


Even more Yu’s

by LazyDaydreamerX



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: (many), Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, OCs - Freeform, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26893618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyDaydreamerX/pseuds/LazyDaydreamerX
Summary: When Yuya is still a child, just after his father's disappearance he meets a friend sharing his face. A meeting that will change the flow of history.Or: When Zarc was split, there were some more shards left over._______________________Okay, so, this started as a crack idea but I really started liking it, so here it is. Expect irregular uploads and chapter length, mostly written in kinda coherent Once Shot like form. I promise nothing!
Relationships: TO BE DETERMINED - Relationship
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. First meetings

Yuya happily runs to the park near his house as the sun slowly sinks down from its peak. Today he is going to meet up with his best friend, just having finished his day in school.

“Yuta!” He calls out to the boy in the distance, the head turning around to reveal a face not unlike his own, as if he would be looking into a mirror.

This all started the week after Yusho’s disappearance. 

Yuya had still problems staying at home, everything reminding him of his dad, so he tries to be outside as long as possible.

But that had all kinds of problems as well. The other people to be exact.

Another group of kids passes the boy as he makes his way into the less visited parts of the park, their scornful whispers only barely concealed.

“That's him.” One of the kids whispers to another. “That the son of the coward.” followed by a surprised gasp from the other member of the group.

This started from the day his father disappeared, not even waiting till next dawn to start with the insults. It’s not as bad as the fact that his father is missing, but it starts to pile up with everything else.

At least the insulters didn't get physical. Most of the time.

The boy is about to settle down on a vacant bench in the most hidden corner of the park when he hears loud shouting through the trees. 

“What the hell do you want from me?! Fucking leave me alone!” The voice sounds young, maybe about Yuya’s age. 

For a moment he thinks about just running away, especially with the recent events, but something stops him from leaving the shouting kid behind. So Yuya jumps up, and runs straight through the vegetation.

But what he sees when he breaks through the wall of leaves is the opposite of what he expected.

The kid in question - still shouting loudly - is wildly swinging a very robust and painful looking branch at a group of other boys, cornering them into a dead end made out of thorn bushes. 

“Who the heck do you think you are?! Leave your fucking hands of my!” He shouts, for some reason moving even closer to them as he says it, his hair wildly flying around his head.

Yuya just looks dumbfounded at the events playing out in front of him, no words leaving his mouth till one of the cornered boys notices his presence. 

“Hey! You over there! Please get this lunatic off us!” The older boy shouts, visibly terrified by the feral child in front of him. But the boy's face freezes once he takes in Yuya’s face.

“Wait - but - you … HOW?!” He shouts, his voice turning even more terrified. “How are there two of you?!”

That seems to stop the rampaging boy and he turns around to Yuya, stabbing his stick into the ground like a sword.

As the boy’s eyes meet Yuya’s both of their mouths fall open.

For a moment Yuya thinks this is a trick, maybe a really elaborate work of makeup or mirrors, maybe even a dream, but the shock on the other’s face seems genuine.

The group of older boys takes this moment of confusion to escape, running through the woods while giving out high pitched cries, getting fully ignored by the other two.

“Who the hell are you?!” The now a little less angry looking boy breaks the silence. “And how the heck do you have my face?!” 

“I - Uhm - I’m Yuya.” The kid manages to stutter out, flinching under the other's loud voice, his shoulder becoming stiff as he takes a step back. Loud shouting recently hasn't been a good sign for what is to come.

But his actions seem to shock the other boy out of his anger, and the boy drops the weaponised stick to the side. “Sorry. I sometimes get a bit loud.” The boy tells him in an apologetic voice. “I didn't mean it like that. … I’m Yuta!” He tells Yuya, proudly sticking out his chest.

“Nice to meet you Yuta.” The entertainer says as he slowly approaches the other boy. ‘Maybe he isn't as bad as I thought.’

His eyes drift back to the proud looking boy’s face. His face. “Uh, do you know why we look the same?” He asks, inspecting the other.

Aside from the body form and face itself they don't actually look that similar. The other boy has blond spiky hair, flowing into a wild ponytail that drifts into pink as it reaches its end, and other pink strands of hair right in front of his forehead.

Yuta approaches the thoughtful boy, grabbing onto his face and squinting. Yuya looks into the boy's pale pink, almost white eyes. 

“As if I’m looking into a mirror.” The blond mutters. “Are you serious and this isn't some kind of joke, right?” He asks, his voice turning threatening again. 

“No. Definitely not!” Yuya makes wild gestures with his hands. “I’m just as confused as you.”

He frees his face from the other’s hands, taking a step back. “Why did these guys try to attack you?” He asks, slightly tilting his head to the side. 

“No idea.” Yuta says, shrugging. “They were shouting something about me being the son of a coward, but I don't even know my parents! Well, they got what they deserve, but next time they won't get away this easily.” He says, clenching his fist until Yuya can hear it crack.

“Then … then it's my fault that you were attacked.” the redhead tells Yuta, his eyes drifting to the floor. “They probably thought you were me and attacked because of it.”

“Wait. Why would they attack you? Are you the son of the coward they were talking about?”

“Dad isn’t a coward!” Yuya shouts, his voice coming out louder than he wanted. “He wouldn't have run away from a duel! Something must have happened to him! He isn't- he isn't a coward!” 

Tears spill out of the boy’s eyes as the words leave his mouth, all the events of that day replaying in front of his eyes. The stadium of booing people won't be something he will get out of his mind anytime soon, if his recent nightmares are anything to go by.

“I - Uhm - I’m sorry! I - I didn't want to -” Yuta is frantically gesturing in front of the crying boy. “Fuck, why am I so bad with this stuff!” He says, probalply to himself, and brings Yuya into a tight hug.

“There there.” He says, awkwardly patting the other boy's head till the sobbing slowly subsides.

After a while the redhead looks up with wet eyes, his eyes locking with the other. 

“Thanks…” Yuya's voice is weak as he slowly lets go of the other shirt, leaving behind a big wet spot. “Sorry…”

“Don't mention it.” The other says, looking to the side in an embarrassed fashion. “You looked like you really needed to let that out. I get that.”

Silence falls between them again as the orange light of the setting sun filters through the leaves. 

Yuya’s head snaps up to the sky, quickly taking out his duel disk to look at the time. “When did it get this late?! Mom is gonna kill me!” 

Yuta beside him seems to have a similar reaction. “Shit! I’m dead if I'm too late!” he shouts. “I have to right now! Meet me here again tomorrow?” He asks, already preparing to run.

A nod is all Yuya gets out before the boy sprints through the woods, leaving behind a trail of dust. Yuya lets out a small laugh before making his way home.

He has to hurry but his home isn't actually that far away, just down some streets, so he easily reaches the door before the sun dips under the horizon.

“I’m home, mom!” He calls out, putting away his keys. It only takes a moment till he hears quick steps approach him from the side.

“Where have you been, young man? Do you realize how late it is?” 

“The sun isn't down yet?” Yuya tries, but he is pretty sure that it won’t work. His mother crossing her arms only strengthens that suspicion. “I have met someone today?” He tries.

His Yoko’s expression shifts to surprise. “You did? What is their name?” She asks her son. 

“His name is Yuta, and he is so cool! He scared away all the other boys all on his own!” Yuya tells his mom with stars in his eyes. “And for some reason, he looks just like me! Do you know anything about that?”

“Just like you? Well, I would remember you having another child. Do you really look that similar?”

Yuya nods quickly. “Yeah! Our hair and eyes are different, but our face looks exactly the same!”

Yoko takes on a thoughtful look. “That is really interesting. You will have to introduce him to me. … Wait, what did you say about other boys? Did someone try to attack you again?” She says, trying to sound calm but Yuya can feel the anger boil up in her.

“No! They didn't do anything! Well, they tried to, but they thought Yuta was me and he beat their asses!” Yuya says, punching his fist in the air.

“Language, Yuya.” She tells him, her voice sounding conflicted about the whole situation. “At least they didn't hurt you. Tell your new friend that he is always welcomed here.”

“Now then, we shouldn't let the foot get cold, right? She says, stepping out of the way to reveal the filled table.

Yuya gives her a smile, thanking her for the amazing smelling mountain food, but internally he is sad. His mother always makes more food when she is stressed, or eats enormous amounts of it. From the look of it, right now it’s both.

The disappearance of his father hit his mom hard. He himself isn't faring much better, after all, so he spends the evening with her, trying to distract her from any dark thoughts as long as he can.

He tells her about his day, letting out all the parts where people throw insults at him. He doesn't want to worry her more than he already does. 

Yoko sends him up when his eyes begin to close against his will, his head dropping against her shoulder.

“Go to bed Yuya. You want to meet up with your new friend tomorrow, right?” He nods, and makes his way up the stairs.

Tomorrow will be the weekend, which usually means going to the You Show duel school with his dad. But he hasn't been there since his dad disappeared. His mother sometimes went there to keep the school running, but it was hard for her.

Both the problems of Yusho’s missing presence and destroyed reputation end up piling up a mountain of problems, making most of the students change to other schools.

Yuya drops into his bed the moment he puts on his pyjamas, his deck sitting on his bedside cabinet, guarding over him in his sleep.

The next day he nearly jumps out of bed. He already feels nervous about the meeting at the end of the day, even if he is pretty sure he doesn't have to. 

He shovels down his breakfast, his mother only giving him an amused look, before he runs to his room again, sorting through his deck.

He saw yesterday that Yuta has a duel disc too. Maybe they can have a duel together! Yuya is barely able to control his excitement, holding his ace monster in his hands. His Odd-Eyes almost feels like he is as excited as the boy as he gets shuffled into the deck.

He might not really fit in with Yuya’s usual theme of monsters, but for him it is the heart of his deck. The card that has always been with him as long as he can remember, together with his magicians of course. 

The time flies by and even if it is still a lot of time till they are supposed to meet, Yuya makes his way to the park. He finds their meeting place easily, the memory still fresh on his mind and sits down on the lush green grass.

It doesn't take long till he can hear the rustling of the leaves beside him, so he jumps up to greet his new friend. But the person stepping out of the bushes isn't Yuta, but a bulky teen maybe 3 years older than Yuya.

“Ha, now what do we have here?” He asks as two more boys his age step out of the bushes. “What a coincidence to meet you here.” He says with a grin on his face, the blatant lie evident to Yuya.

“Wow. You are really as pathetic as dad says. No wonder, your father didn't even have the strength to try fighting against my father.” He says, letting out an arrogant laugh.

‘This is the son of Strong Ishijima?’ Yuya thinks, taking in the similarities.

The older boy scoffs. “What, too afraid to talk?” and begins to laugh, his two followers joining in. “A pathetic excuse of a person like your father.”

But by now Yuya has had enough. “Take that back!” He shouts, getting the others attention. “You have no idea what you are talking about! My father would never run away from yours! He would have easily won in a duel!”

“What did you say?!” The other boy shouts, causing Yuya to flinch.

The bully uses Yuya’s hesitation to rush forward, pulling back his fist to get a hit onto the younger boy. Yuya holds up his hands in front of his face, trying to block the punch, but suddenly there is a loud ‘whak’ and the bulky teen drops to the ground.

“You are really a magnet for trouble, aren't you Yuya.” Comes a very familiar voice from beside him.

“Yuta!” Yuya calls out, taking away his arms from his face, facing his friend. The boy has another sturdy looking branch laying on his shoulder, showing it off like a weapon. And in his hands, it probably is.

‘Where does he even keep finding these things.’

“Sorry I’m late. I kind of had trouble finding this place. But it looks like I still got here right in time.” He says, swinging his branch to the ground with a heavy impact. “Ah, this park is such a beautiful place. If there just would be less trash lying around.” He says, giving the boy lying on the ground a stab with his weapon, causing him to flinch.

“It would be really kind of you to take the trash you bring here with you. You would be so kind, right?” His smile looks like that of a predator, causing the other boy’s knees to shake, sweat dripping down their foreheads.

“Wouldn't you!?” He shouts and the two lackeys jump to action, dragging their boss away by his arms. “And if you ever even think about attacking us again, I will show you have many bones a human can break at the same time!”

Yuta turns around to Yuya, setting his stick aside, barely having enough time to react to the boy jumping at him to take him into a hug. 

“That was so amazing Yuta! You are so cool!” He tells the other boy with stars in his eyes. 

The blond’s face turns a deep shade of red as he turns to the side. “Thanks I guess... “ he mutters, but Yuya can see the smile that spreads over his face. “Sorry I was late.”

Yuya just shakes his head. “You got here just in time. Thank you for saving me. You didn't have to do that.”

Yuta just gives him a broad grin. “Of course I will save you. We are friends after all!” And Yuya gives him a broad smile in return. 

They have been meeting every day since then, sometimes in one of the parks around the area, sometimes in one of their homes. Now and then they even wander the city's card shops, trying to find new cards to add to their decks.

Yuya introduced his new friend to Yoko as soon as he could, Yuta doing the same with his grandparents. 

The blond lives with them in the more expensive areas of the town, the two elders once being successful in trade till they retired a while ago, still receiving a steady income through their businesses.

They welcome Yuya with open arms, happy that their grandson has finally managed to find a friend, even if they are as clueless about their shared faces as every other.

Today the two decided to relax in one of the parks especially made for duelling, wanting to try out their new decks. To their irritation, they are approached by a group of boys some years older than them.

“Ha, what are you doing here? This isn't a place for babies, especially cowards like you!” one of them announces.

By now the whole bullying has started to slow down, thanks to Yuta’s rather extreme ways of telling people his opinion of their actions against Yuya. But now and then there are still some who approach the two, trying to throw insults at them.

But Yuya has seen this exact thing happen often enough by now, and the time with his friend has really helped in building his confidence. The two boys just give each other a nod, already preparing for their usual reaction to this kind of situation.

“Oh? That is interesting. It sounds like you think you are better than us. Do you care to prove that?” Yuya asks them, his voice taking on a mocking sound.

“Or could it be that you are afraid to lose?” Yuta joins in from the side as the others hesitate for a second.

“Wha-? Of course we will win against you!” one of the boys shouts, the other three nodding in agreement.

“We will smash you to the ground!” one of them announces taking out his duel disk and strapping it around his arm, the others following to do the same. 

Yuta and Yuya just smile at each other as they take out their own duel disks, strapping them to their arms as they activate. 

“Duellists locked in battle, kicking against the earth, dancing in the air alongside their monsters!” Yuya says, his voice bright and powerful.

“They storm through these fields! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of duelling!” Yuta continues.

“Action duell!” they finish together as an action field starts to appear around them, forming what looks to be some ancient ruin.

“I begin!” One of their enemies announces. “I Normal Summon Goblin Attack Force and set one card face down and end my turn!” 

(Atk 2300/Def 0) Hand x3

“My turn! I begin by Normal Summoning Marauding Captain!” The next announces, slamming down his card on his disk.

(Atk 1200/ Def 200)

“Now his effect activates and I can summon another warrior from my hand! Appear Blade Knight! Now I set another card face down and end my turn!” 

(Atk 1600/ Def 1000) Hand x2

“And no it's my turn! I discard Pinecono from my hand and activate Acorno’s effect to special summon itself. Then Pinecono Special Summons itself because it was sent to the graveyard because of Acorno!” 

The two monsters descend on the field with a battlecry, their summoner letting out a cocky laugh. 

“And now I tribute them to summon my ace! Come! Beast King Barbaros!” He places the card as he shouts out its name, the animal hybrid monster appearing in a white flash. 

(Atk 3000/ Def 1200) Hand x2

“Now it's your turn! Savor it, because it will be your last one!” He shouts to Yuya and Yuta.

A grin spreads over Yuta’s face. “Well, we will see that! I draw!” he says, his grin getting even broader as he spots the card. 

“I begin by activating Pantheism of the Monarchs, sending Frost Blast of the Monarchs to the graveyard to draw two cards! And now I activate One for One and Special Summon Edea the Heavenly Squire from my deck by sending another card to the graveyard!” 

The monster Yuya is very familiar with descends to the field. The two boys have dueled many times since they met, and by now they know each other's decks as well as their own. 

“Now because Edea was summoned, I can summon Eidos the Underworld Squire from my deck. And I immediately tribute him to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch!” 

The monster descends onto the field, creating a storm of ice and snow around himself. 

(Atk 2400/Def 1000)

“When he is tribute summoned I get to destroy two spell or trap cards on the field. Say goodbye to your cards!” he says, waving to the other boys as their face downs are shattered by the icy winds. 

“And thanks to the effect of Eidos I can tribute summon again! Now I tribute Edea to summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!” 

(Atk 2400/Def 1000)

“Now that he was tribute summoned I get to destroy a monster you control, and I chose your Goblin Attack Force!”

Yuta’s monster extends his arms to the sky, electricity flashing from his body as a giant lightning bolt struck the opponent's monster, incinerating it into ash.

“Now for the Battle Phase! I attack you with both of my monsters!” Yuta calls out, pointing at the boy that used to have the Goblin Attack Force. The blond’s monsters call up a sphere of ice and thunder between their hands shooting it at their opponent.

The Attack hit their opponent full force, throwing him into the wall behind with a painful sounding crash, reducing his life to zero. 

“That is the first one down. I set one card face down and end my turn. Yuya, the stage is yours!” He tells his friend.

Hand x0

The redhead's face sprouts a big grin as he draws his card. “I will begin by Special Summoning Performapal Radish Horse because one of you controls a special Summoned monster I don't control any. Then I Normal Summon Performapal Hip Hippo, and because of its effect I can immediately tribute it and Radish Horse to summon a level 7 or higher monster from my hand!” 

“Dragon with beautiful eyes! Odd Eyes Dragon!” Yuya announced, his ace monster appearing on the field in a burst of colours. 

(Atk 2500/Def 2000)

“Now I activate the Quick Spell card One Man Show from my hand! I can target my Odd Eyes Dragon and a monster on my opponent's side of the field, and your monster louses Atk equal to my monster, but I can only attack with that one monster this turn. And I chose your Beast King Barbaros!” 

A colourful light appears around Odd Eyes Dragon, before it forms onto a blast, hitting the opponent's monster. The Beast King falls onto his knees as the rainbow lightning flashes around his body.

(Atk 3000/ Def 1200) → (Atk 500/ Def 1200)

“Now I attack your monster with my dragon! Go, Spiral Flare! And because your monster is level 5 or higher, all the battle damage is doppled!” 

“Wha- but that means-!” Their opponent shouts as the dragon's flames grow even bigger, watching helplessly as his monster erupts in flames. 

“That's right! 4000 points of damage!” Yuya announces.

The Beast goes out in a blast, throwing its owner against the wall behind him, crashing beside his already knocked out friend. 

“Now I set two cards face down and end my turn!” He says grinning as he sets down the last two cards of his hand.

hand x0

“What was it that you said?” Yuta asks from beside the redhead. “ ‘Savor it, because it will be your last one’ was it? Lets see if you can go through with that.” 

“I- I can still beat you!” The kid shouts, but Yuya can see how his hands are shaking. “I draw!” He shouts, his voice cracking at the end. The way his face falls tells Yuya enough.

“I change my monsters to defence and summon another one in face down and end my turn.” He says, his head dropping to the ground.

“Well, it looks like this show will be a bit shorter than expected!” Yuta announces drawing another card. 

“Yuya, if you would?” He throws a grin to his partner. 

The entertainer nods and flips up one of his face down cards. “I activate Explosive entry! I can special summon one Performapal monster from my graveyard, and I choose Performapal Hip Hippo! Then, because the summoned monsters Atk is higher than the Def of your monster, I can destroy it.” 

A bright flash appears above his opponent's monster, revealing Hip Hippo who falls onto the warrior, destroying it in a comically bright explosion. 

“Now that should be enough, right Yuta?” 

“More than enough! I activate the effect of Eidos in my graveyard, banishing him to summon back Edea! And when Edea is summoned, I get another Eidos from my deck!” The card gets pushed out of his deck, and Yuta slams it onto the field with a wide grin.

“Now I tribute my two new monsters to Tribute Summon! Ruler of the sky and light! descent into this world and reveal your true power! Ehther the Heavenly Monarch!” 

A bright light fills the arena as the monster appears on the field, causing the ground to tremble as it hits the ground. 

(Atk 2800/Def 1000)

“Now when they are Tribute Summoned, I get to summon another monster from my deck if it has the appropriate stats, and their own just happen to fit the requirements, so I summon another copy of Ehther the Heavenly Monarch!” 

In another flash of light the next monarch appears, the giant figures now flaming Yuta at both sides.

“Now battle! First I attack with my two weaker monarchs!” He announces, his monster shooting their elemental attacks at the defending monster and the face down, revealing the set monster to be another Blade Knight, both getting evaporated by the blasts.

“And now I attack directly! Accept your judgement!” He shouts, as both of his Heavenly Monarchs create a glowing spear in their hands, throwing it at their opponent with a devastating speed.

Yuya can barely hear the kid shout over the loud impact of Yuta’s attack. Well, his friend has always been a bit on the brutal side, but in this case it feels deserved. And it has the bonus that most of them are too afraid to bother them again.

The action field dissipates as the lifepoints of their last opponent fall to zero. 

Yuya lets out a victory cry as he runs over to Yuta. “This was so good! It all worked perfectly! The training is really paying off!” Yuta just nods in response, throwing a threatening glare at the three boys limping into the distance.

The two friends have started training in You Show duel school a while ago, even if it took quite some work from Yuta to convince the other boy. 

They decided that getting stronger would be the best way to protect the legacy of Yuya’s father, so that when they are old enough they can take part in the championship, taking the win that Yusho was supposed to take before he disappeared.

“But man.” Yuta complains, letting out an annoyed sigh. “These guys are so damn weak! We can get better if they are so easy to beat!” 

Yuya just laughs at his friend's antics, already used to them at this point. But he can't help but agree. Most people they have recently gone up against were a bit … disappointing. There are a handful of other kids that he knows, even one at You Show duel school, but they aren't exactly that strong. 

Yuya’s mind drifts to Yuzu. Her being the daughter of Shuzou, the current headmaster of the school, he would have expected her to be a better duellist, but she isn't even close to Yuta and Yuya at this point. 

The boys train every day, and the time they spend searching for new cards in all of the cities card shops grows every week.

“Do you have any idea where we could find someone we could train with?” Yuya asks the other boy, but gets a head shake in responce.

“LDS might have someone our age, but they would never let us train with them, us being in a rival school and all.” Yuya lets out a sigh. Even after Yusho’s disappearance and the subsequent fall of his school it somehow is still seen as a big contender by many of the other ones, receiving the appropriate treatment for it. 

‘Why can't they just leave us alone?! We already have it hard enough!’

They are just about to make their way home, unable to get an idea, when a person steps out of the bushes right in front of them, letting out a sigh as soon as he spots the two.

“I really hoped she was wrong with this one.” He says, seemingly to himself. 

Yuya inspects the person in front of them, or at least tries to. They are wearing a black hoodie, casting their face in shadows because of the setting sun. Yuya expects them to be about the same height as himself, just appearing a bit smaller because of their lax back.

The voice sounded more on the male than on the female side. He is about to ask them about who they are, but Yuta beats him to it.

“Who the hell are you?! And what's with that reaction?! We have already stomped one group of idiots into the ground today, but that didn't have to be the only one!”

Not the words Yuya would have used, but it seems to do the trick as that seems to get the boys attention. 

The stranger lets out another sigh. “Let's just get this over with.” He says and pulls down his hood. 

If it was weird the first time, the second time is even more absurd to the boys. 

The face of the other boy is another mirror image of the two friends. The two gape as they take in the boy in front of them.

“Oh come on!” Yuta calls out. “How the hell can so many people have the same face?! What the hell!”

Yuya tries to ignore the continuing rant of his friend as he approaches the new boy. Just like with Yuta, except from the face they actually look really different. 

His hair is a deep shade of blue, dark like the night sky, only the front part of his hair being a light blue. The hair is a bit more tamed than Yuya’s, making it look a bit less spiky and more soft in the process. His eyes are a burned orange, making Yuya think of the setting sun.

“So, uhm, who are you?” The redhead asks curiously. After all, it usually isn't normal to walk across someone with the same face as yourself.

“Im Yume.” He simply says, seemingly content with his answer, only elaborating after another prompt of Yuya. “An acquaintance of mine, Mieru, is trying to learn fortune telling, and told me I have to go here. I didn't actually think anyone would be here.” He finishes and looks over to the still shouting Yuta. “Is he always like that?”

Yuya answers that with a shy laugh as he scratches the back of his neck. His best friend does have quite a temper. 

“So do you have any idea why we look the same?” Yume asks, interest flashing in his eyes.

Yuya shakes his head. “No, we didn't find out anything. Even my mom has no idea.” He tells the other boy, whose shoulders drop even more at the words.

“As if things weren't already complicated enough for me.” He grumbles. “Anyway, I am living in this city starting today. I guess it's better if we exchange contracts to avoid problems.” Yume tells them, holding out his duel disk.

“You are a duelist too? That's so cool!” Yuya exclaims, drawing in Yuta’s attention, the blonde having finally finished his shouting.

“Hey, how strong are you? We need someone good to train with. We can't just keep battling each other!” He says as he runs over to the other two boys.

“Well, I am decent, I guess.” The blue haired says, but from the glint in his eyes Yuya is sure that that is quite some understatement. He watches as Yuta beside him almost starts to tremble from excitement, having picked up on it too.

“But not today.” Yume says, causing the blonde to deflate. “But I guess tomorrow I will have some time to spend.” He says with a grin.

They end up saving each other's numbers in their duel disks, agreeing to meet up again tomorrow at this place before they head home for today.

Yuya’s face sprouts a big grin as he runs home. His mother isn't going to believe this.


	2. The newest Addition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuya and Yume get to know their new friend.

It is still early when Yuya makes his way to the park, unable to control his excitement to get to know his new friend, Yume. 

What kind of deck could he have? How would I be able to work together in a team battle? All kinds of questions fly through the entertainers mind as he runs through the streets of Miami City, passing all kinds of people.

Formerly there would have been some insults of random kids about him being the son of the coward, but now there is rarely anyone who tries, afraid of getting absolutely destroyed in a duel.

His mother seems to be oddly proud of him for having such a reputation, but he isn't going to complain. 

He reaches his goal half an hour early, but can already see his newest friend sitting on the bank near their meeting place.

Yuya runs over to greet him as he spots the deck in the boy's hand. “Hey Yume! Is that your deck?” He asks, but he already knows the answer from the care the other boy treats the cards with.

The blue haired nods, but covers the top card with his hands, hiding it from Yuya. “It is, but this will be a surprise. Don't just spoil it.” 

Yuya’s grin gets even broader at the words and lets himself drop on the bank beside the boy. “You just moved here, right? Why?” He asks as the other puts away his cards.

“My parents tend to travel for work and are rarely home, so they thought I would be better off with some of our relatives. We are actually pretty far away in the family tree, but they are kind, so it doesn't matter.” Yume explains.

“I told you about their child yesterday, I think? Her name is Mieru, the one who is learning fortune telling.”

Yuya nods, he does remember. “She told you to come here, right? Does that mean she can really see the future?” he asks excitedly.

The other just shrugs. “She is still learning. Apparently she has talent for it, but I don't know how good she will get. Till now most of it was wrong.”

They are in a comfortable silence for a while, relaxing in the soothing wind and each other's presence until Yume raises his voice again. “What was that yesterday? Why did those other kids bother you? Or, well, try to. I just got there at the end.”

Yuya lets his eyes drop to the ground as he tells his new friend about his father, and how his disappearance caused the people to go after Yuya with their frustration, constantly apologising for pulling in Yume too because they share the same face, just like Yuta.

But when Yuya is about to apologize again, Yume interrupts him. “Stop being so apologetic. This isn't your fault. If you had the chance to change this you would have done so already. … Actually you did fix this pretty well, considering what you and Yuta did do those annoying guys yesterday.”

Yuya is about to return the others' smiles when they hear someone shouting for them from the distance. “Yuya! Yume! Sorry I’m late! I got lost again!” they hear Yuta as he runs to them at full speed, coming to an abrupt halt in front of them, nearly losing his balance.

The two just wave it off. “Yuya just got my information up to date, and you aren't actually that late.” He tells the exhausted boy.

Yuya is just about to ask Yume for a duel, when a group of older boys passes them.

“God, now there are three of them.” One whispers to another one they are a bit further away from the three duellists, obviously not wanting to be heard.

But Yuya, or as it turns out all three of them, have always had surprisingly good senses, easily picking up on the insult.

Yuya deflates visibly, and he sees how Yuta takes a deep breath to shout after them when Yume interrupts him.

“Well I should be building a good reputation too, or people will think I’m the weak one in this group.'' he says with a grin on his face, standing up. “Hey! You over there! Care to tell that to my face?”

The boy turns around with a shocked expression, obviously not expecting to be heard. 

“You know I can't let that slide.” Yume announces as he puts on his duel disk. “Will you take that back on your own or do I have to beat the words out of you?” He asks, his voice terrifyingly calm and polite.

The stranger's friends seem to be frightened enough by Yume’s threat, trying to get their friend to leave, but the boy in question seems to be mostly unbothered.

“Pah, as if a weakling like you could win against me!” He announces, ignoring the more and more frantik calls of his friends. “I will beat you to the ground!” He shouts as he activates his duel disk, Yume following suit as a grin spreads over his face.

“Duel!” The both shout as they draw their starting hand. “I start!” The opponent announces.

“I activate the spell card Dark World Dealings! Now we both draw one card and then discard one care!” He says as he takes the top card of his deck, sending another one to the graveyard.

Yume follows suit with a grin on his face.

“Now the effect of my discarded Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World activates, Special Summoning itself!” A demon in gold armor appears on his side of the field, accompanied by purple lightning.

(Atk 2300/Def 1400)

“Then I activate another Dark World Dealing, sending Sillva, Warlord of Dark World to the graveyard who is also Special Summoned! And then I Normal Summon Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World and end my turn!”

(Atk 2300/Def 1400) (Atk 1600/Def 1300)

hand x2

“Now it's my turn!” Yume announces, dramatically drawing his card. “I begin by banishing Super Soldier Soul from my graveyard to add a Beginning Knight from my deck to my hand! After all you were so kind and let me send it there! Then I activate the Ritual Spell Super Soldier Synthesis, tributing the Beginning Knight and an Evening Twilight Knight from my deck to ritual summon a monster from my graveyard!”

A portal appears in front of the boy, glittering like a galaxy, not unlike an Overlay Network. His two knights turn into four shining spheres each, circling around the center, erupting into a blazing light.

“Appear! Knight of chaos! Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier!” 

(Atk 3000/Def 2500)

The Knight in crimson and gold appears in the light, drawing his sword and pointing it at the opponent.

“And because I used Beginning Knight and Evening Twilight Knight as tributes, he gets two additional effects from each! Each of them gives him the ability to banish a monster on your field, so say goodbye to your Sillva and Goldd!”

The Knight raises its sword into the sky, the weapon erupting into black lightning, forming two black spheres floating around the weapon. Each of them shoots a pitch black beam, making the enemies monsters disappear in a purple flash.

“And now I go into the battle Phase! Super Soldier! Attack Beiige!” His warrior jumps into the air, slicing the enemy's monster in half with one strike.

“Now for the other effects! If he destroys a monster, you receive damage equal to its Atk in the graveyard! So together with the battle damage, you receive 3000 points of damage!”

The opponent's fiend explodes into a purple light, throwing its owner against a nearby tree.

“And I’m not ready yet! brause of Beginning Knight, if my monster destroys one of yours by battle, it can make a second attack!” His warrior raises his sword again, lighting it up in a purple light, swinging it down to create a shockwave destroying everything in its path, lowering the opponent's lifepoints to zero.

A screen appears over Yume, declaring him the winner as his monster dissipates.

“No wonder you two want someone good to train against!” He says to Yuya and Yuta, completely ignoring his fallen opponent. “These guys are so weak! I ended up only using a single card in my hand!”

Yuya stares at the boy with stars in his eyes. ‘He was able to use every single card his opponent made him send to the graveyard! That's so cool!’

“Not bad!” Yuta tells the ritual user. “You didn't even use your ace, right?”

Yume gives the blonde a sharp grin. “Was I that obvious? I will have to work on my acting skills.”

Yuya just grins at his friends as the bullies stumble away into the distance. ‘What did I do to deserve these friends?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know I made the random kid-duelist really weak, but we have seen how bad the apparently strong Obelisk Force is, so it felt weird to make them stronger than that.


	3. Out in the city of Hearts

Yuto rolls out of bed with a tired look on his face. He never was anyone even resembling a morning person, and the time he has to wake up for school definitely didn't fit well with that.

He begrudgingly pulls off his pyjamas and slips into his school uniform, binding his tie as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes.

When he is ready he leaves his house immediately, his bag already prepared yesterday night, an in his opinion far more reasonable time of the day, and makes his way to Heartland Academy.

Like always he takes the less used side alleys, trying to avoid the loud sounds of the morning or the colorful lights the city is known for.

Thankfully it doesn't take long till he reaches his school, the way being uneventful till he is about to enter his classroom.

He can recognize their steps before he even sees them, stepping out of the way to avoid his friend crashing into his back, letting them run into the wall instead.

“How many times do I have to tell you that this is a really bad habit. Sooner or later you will hurt yourself, Yushiro.” Yuto says with a tired but genuine smile on his face.

The other child turns around, revealing a face incredibly similar to Yuto’s own. “Just let me give you a good morning hug!… It’s only a question of time till I manage to anyway! I’m inevitable!” They declare, trying to get their hair in order.

The two have known each other for quite a while, almost growing up as siblings. Even if they know they aren't twins, they sometimes go with it just for fun. Well, if Yushiro can convince Yuto to, at least.

Yuto picks out a stray leaf from the others spiky red hair, attempting to get the others dark purple, almost black, strands that cover the others forehead out of the others eyes.

“I made you some food!” The other suddenly announced, taking out a box out from who knows where, presenting it to the other boy with stars in his marine blue eyes. 

Yuto gives him an embarrassed smile. “You know you don't have to do this every day. I can take care of myself.” But still takes the box, the wonderful smells already reaching his nose.

“Don't mention it.” Yushiro tells him, making dismissive gestures. “You know its my hobby, and you eat far to little if nobody reminds you to. You know that just as much as me, admit it.” He edges closer to Yuto, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You say that like I’m a baby.” Yuto tells him with an expression that is definitely not a pout, Yushiro, and walks into the classroom, letting himself fall into the chair beside Ruri.

“I see you two are having fun already.” She tells him with a smile, as Yushiro throws himself into the chair on Yuto’s other side.

“You bet it! We could take a run around the entire city!” He announces with a laugh in his voice, energetically shaking his lookalike's shoulder, causing Yuto to drop his head onto the table.

“Why am I spending time with you?” He mutters to himself, causing both of his friends to burst out laughing.

Yuto’s savior arrives in the form of the teacher, urging the class to calm down as the lesson starts. The topic is about some basic summoning rulings that Yuto already knows perfectly, so he lets himself drift off into a half slumber.

His eyes fall onto his friends, they two also using the time or different things, them training this almost every day together with Yuto. They want to be pro duellists after all, so they have to start training early. 

Ruri seems to be sketching some of the monsters her deck consists of, flying through a sky filled with fluffy looking clouds, Yushiro having taken out his tablet, hiding it behind his book while he searches through card databases for new additions to his deck.

The lessons pass by easily, the others needing a bit more attention from the Phantom Knights duelist, but nothing too difficult.

He stands up from his seat as soon as the lunch bell rings, stretching his arms to get the stiffness out of them, his joints giving of some cracks.

“Hurry up!” Yushiro pulls his shirt from the side. “All the good places will be taken if we are this slow!” Dragging Yuto behind as he energetically talks with Ruri.

As soon as they step out into the open, they are greeted by a familiar face.

“Finally.” Shun grumbles, but his face softens as soon as his eyes fall on his little sister. “I saved us a spot. He gestures to a nearby tree, a little bit off from all the crowds, just the way Yuto like it most. 

The black haired duelist suppresses a laugh. Shun has always been a softy at heart, even if the teen would never admit it.

They spend the rest of the school day in a normal fashion. Yushiro complains that it is boring, Ruri tries to convince him that it is important anyway, and Yuto just silently watches them argue.

After school the three pick up Shun from his class room, strolling through the city as Yushiro drags them from one card shop to the other, trying to find the cards that the redhead is sure the others need in their decks.

When Yuto falls into bed exhausted that evening, he quickly drifts off into a deep and satisfied slumber.

Sometimes he wishes it would always stay like this.


	4. Three against the World

Yugo’s day, like most of them, starts with shouting.

“Yugo! Wake up dammit! You can't just stay in bed the whole day!” 

The voice is familiar to Yugo, and he opens his eyes to see an angry Rin stand beside his bed. 

“Oh finally you are awake! How can someone even sleep through all of this?! Anyway, get up, we have things to do. And don't let me wait!” She shouts as she stomps out of the room.

Yugo slides out of bed with a yawn, rubbing his eyes as he slips into his cloth. He heads down the stairs and into a dining and living room, already occupied by a bunch of other people. 

“Ah there you are Yugo!” Comes a voice from the table. “We were already waiting for you, or do you want us to go to the junkyard alone? But don't complain if we get a new card for our deck!”

His tired eyes focus on the origin of the voice. On the table sits a boy Yugo’s age with a striking resemblance to him.

The faces of the two are identical, almost as if looking into a mirror. But in contrast to Yugo the other boy's hair is burned orange, with light green strands here and there. Most part of his hair is drawn back into a ponytail, some of the strands escaping it to loosely hang over his face. 

“Morning Yuda.” Yugo tells the other boy as he lets himself drop on the table beside the boy, but is careful not to interrupt the other during his work. The boy is currently tinkering around with one of the old machines they have found at a scrapyard, taking it apart to take out the usable pieces.

The duelist watches the boy take apart the machine with trained expertise, some parts faster than Yugo’s tired brain can understand.

A small laugh of the boy gets the tired boy out of his trance like state, prompting him to look up into the others brown eyes. 

“You look even more tired than usual. Had that weird dream again?” Yuda asks, causing the other boy to stretch, some of his bones cracking from the rest in the stiff bunk bed they have.

“Yeah, the same as always, and i still can't remember how it ends!” He tells the other who just laughs in response.

For as long as Yugo can remember, he has dreamed of dragons, his Clear Wing being one of them. They all seem so familiar to him, be he can't place from where, their names flying around in his head, but just out of reach. 

His eyes drift back to the boy he shares his face with, sitting beside him in concentration. People often think they are twins, having the same face and age, both without parents. He would probably have thought that too, if it weren't for the orphanage’s matron knowing Yuda’s parents, his mother to be specific.

Helping her raise the boy before the young woman died of an illness she was pretty sure that he was an only child, so imagine her surprise when one day a child is given to her, looking almost identical to one already living in her house.

She always mused if Yuda’s mother had given Yugo away right after his birth, knowing she wouldn't have been able to raise two children, but with her already passed on, the question won't be answered.

It’s not really like anyone cares anyway. The two boys grew up like brothers anyway, so having a maybe-twin has always been fun for them.

The blue-blond boy stands up to take some of the leftover bread, almost swallowing it whole. It’s hard and dry, but he is used to it at this point. They all are. 

“So what's the plan for today?” Yugo asks the other boy, getting a glass of water from the tab.

“You forgot already? We just talked about it yesterday. Anyway, we plan to go to the western dump near the ocean. Rin said she recently found something that looks like it came from the Tops there, so maybe there is more of it. We will need some really specific parts for the D-Wheel anyway, so that might be our best chance.” Yuda tells the other boy.

That gets energy into Yugo’s system. “Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!” He says, pulling on Yuda’s sleeve. 

But in that moment a fist hits him on the head, forcing him to let go of the other boy who picks up the parts and starts to put them away.

Yugo on the other hand turns around to the source of his pain, Rin, standing behind him with a threatening look on her face. “We would already be on our way if it wasn't for you.”

“But Rin!” He starts, but is interrupted by Yuda.

“Let’s just go, now that we are all ready.” He says, having but away the parts. The other two agree, each grabbing a bag for their findings on the way out.

The two children run through the dirty streets of the Common’s part of the city, weaving through narrow streets and hidden valleys, doing their best to avoid ever dangerous looking person. 

The way to the junkyard doesn't take them long, the distance isn't that big if you know the right way, after all. The climb over a fence, following Rin to the place she told them about. 

“Here it is.” She announces after a while, standing on top of rusty machinery. The kids nod, pulling out their gloves and start to move around the old pieces of metal, careful to not get any cuts from the old material. Without expensive medicine an infected wound could be deadly.

Yugo is digging through a pile of tools, all too broken to be of any use, when he hears Rin call for him and Yuda. “Boys, look at this!” she tells them holding up a small box. They head over to her with interest as she presents them the boy with stars in her eyes.

“This was already a huge success!” She tells them as she opens the box.

The boy's faces light up like the sun as they spot what is inside. 

“Cards! And so many!” Yugo shouts, trying to grab the box out of the girl's hands.

But she slaps his hand away, carefully putting the box inside her bag. “You know what we agreed on. No looking at them before we are home. You won't do anything but think about them if we let you, and not get any work done!” she tells him.

Yuda the traitor even agrees with her! Yugo lets out a sigh and makes his way back to his pile. They end up finding some more single cards while digging through the trash, and even some good condition parts for the D-Wheel.

Yuda puts some more stuff into their bags, planning to take them apart once they are back at the orphanage.

The three kids can't keep the grins off their faces as they carefully sneak home with their loot, avoiding every person they can. 

They can't exactly protect stuff easily if the attacker is an adult. 

But eventually they manage to reach the orphanage they call their home, presenting their work to the matron.

“Ah, Yugo, Rin Yuda! There you are.” The elderly woman addresses them. “The food just got ready.” 

Yugo is already running to the food while Rin and Yuda show off their findings.

“If Yuda is right, then this will bring all of us through two whole weeks!” Rin tells the matron happily.

She smiles at the kindly ruffling their hair. “Oh thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without you. But better start eating now before it gets cold … or Yugo has eaten it all.” She finishes, looking at the boy greedily shoveling food into his mouth.

She lets out a sigh. “I don't know where you are putting all of that food. If you had the chance you would probably eat as much as you weigh.” 

They all sit down on the table, some of the older and younger children joining them too. They soon find out why Yugo has been so quick to stuff his mouth after the matron tells them that one of the older kids managed to find some good meat some Top has thrown away.

They don't get that often. Yugo still daydreams about the day one of them found a thrown away party buffet. Hahh, the good day.

One they have finished they run back into their shared room, pulling out the newly found cards. At this point they all managed to find a full deck, but having enough cards and them fitting together is a whole different story.

“Can I get this one?” Rin asks, pointing to a Windwitch - Snow Bell. “I think I already have a card this one works with.” She says, sorting through her deck, showing off the card as she finds it.

“I don't need it. It doesn't fit in with my cards.” Yuda tells her, turning to Yugo. “Does it fit with yours?”

Yugo takes up a thinking face. “I think it would, but Rin found it first, so she gets to keep it. Just tell me if you ever replace it.” 

“Thanks!” Rin says, giving Yugo a brief hug. Yugo's face shifts into a dopey smile at the contact, even after she lets go of him. Well, until he spots Yuda’s sly grin.

“I will take this one.” Yuda announces, picking out a Foolish Burial from the tray, immediately exchanging it with a normal monster from his deck.

They sort through the cards for a while longer, till the sun has slipped under the horizon. They each managed to pick out some more cards for their deck, continuously improving them.

They set aside some of the cards they are sure they won't have any use for, keeping them aside for the other kids in the orphanage, like they always do. They also got some of their first cards the same way.

As soon as they crawl into their beds, their eyes begin to drift shut, the exhaustion from the day catching up to them. They decided to go to the same junkyard tomorrow, only having searched through a small area yet.

Yuga can't wait for it, maybe they find another big pile of cards like today again? With these hopeful thoughts Yugo drifts off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, at first I thought about making Yugo’s counterpart one of the Tops, like Yugo’s early design was, but that didn't work out well. Too bad, I really wanted to try that.


	5. The two Terrors

Yuri walks through the cold hallways of Academia, feeling the eyes of every other person following him. It has already been over three years since he arrived here, but he still finds the atmosphere extremely depressing sometimes. 

Another student fearfully adverts his eyes as Yuri focuses in on him, doing his best to make himself look as small as possible.

He still isn't sure how to deal with the reputation he has gained around the members of Academia. He isn't even fully sure how he got it. There are plenty of other strong students among their ranks, every single of the honor students to be exact, but none of them receive the same treatment as him.

Edo is like an idol for everyone, someone to look up to and serve under, and Alexis is even more liked, and more importantly - trusted.

He, on the other hand, is feared. There is no other word for it. No one dares to speak out against him, most not even speaking in his presence at all.

Yes, it is true that he carded multiple people as soon as he arrived here, but that was on the Professor’s order! What was he supposed to do? Disobey? Yuri isn't that dump.

At least there is on silver lining to this whole situation, he thinks, already recognizing the steps approaching him from behind, trying to be sneaky.

“Yuji, you have to work on your stealth.” He says, turning around with a grin on his face.

“Oh come one! I thought I had you this time!” He says, falling into step with the other boy.

For Yuri, Yuji is the only ray of light in this hell house he now calls his home. The only person who doesn't seem to be afraid of him on this entire island. 

(And that includes the Professor. He has seen the looks he gives Yuri, and Yuji too for that matter.)

The two of them have started to build quite a name for them among Academia’s ranks. ‘The Devil Twins’ they call them, even if the two boys are pretty sure that they aren't even related.

And they don't actually look that similar. In contrast to Yuri, the other boy's hair is a shining gray, almost silver colour, with some cyan on both sides. All in all the other’s hair is a bit more wild than his own, forming spikes on the back of his head as if he has been running against strong winds.

“So, did you have any plans for today?” The other boy asks, his neon green eyes full of interest and anticipation.

“Well, I guess I have a bit of free time.” Yuri says, knowing fully well that the other knows his timetable as well as his own.

“Perfect! There is a new strategy I really wanted to get your opinion on. I already did the math behind the probabilities, but I just know I’m missing something!” Yuji says, dragging the Predaplant user by his arm, urging him to go faster.

Yuri almost laughs at the mixture of fear and confusion appearing on the bystanders faces as the two most feared children of the school run through the hallways of Academia with a smile on their face.

The two run through the halls, soon reaching Yuji’s personal room. Yuri has one too, not far from here actually, but he rarely spends time in it. He knows there are hidden cameras all over the place.

He prefers the greenhouse anyway. Or he just stays in Yuji’s room. 

His friend's room originally had them too, but with all the machines and weird contraptions the boy tends to build, he had more than enough excuses to break them, ‘unknowingly’ taking them out with well placed missteps from his inventions.

The boy drags Yuri into the chaos he calls his room. The floor is covered in all kinds of machinery in every stage of completion. One of them he is even able to identify as a taken apart duel disk.

“Are you experimenting with Solid Vision again?” Yuri asks, pointing at it. “You know the Professor forbid it after what happened last time.” And oh, that is something even Yuri would like to forget.

Yuji just gives him an innocent smile so fake it almost hurts. “What? I have no idea what you are talking about. And I would never do anything that goes against the Professors' orders.”

Yuri can't help the laugh escaping him. It is a wonder that the Professor hasn't tried to get rid of Yuji before. His friend really is a menace to society.

“Anyway, this is what I wanted to ask.” He says, pulling a tablet out of a pile that Yuri would identify as a pile of random junk, but Yuji could spend hours telling about all of the part’s uses.

Well, Yuri had his flowers, and his friend was equally clueless there.

They spend the rest of the afternoon going through the cards Yuji thought about implementing into his strategy. Some even manage to catch Yuri’s attention.

Not that he really needs it. Every single person is already terrified enough of him, and he doesn't really want to give them more reasons until he has to. … But some new cards could never be bad.

Yuri glances out of one of the windows to see the students return from the training. He and Yuji have stopped going long ago, already having mastered everything they teach. Not that it is that hard. Yuri still doesn't understand how some of the others have so many problems with it. 

Sometimes he would actually like to go again, just sitting there with all the others. But he can't really do that. The last time he entered a classroom the teacher fainted, and Academia doesn't really waste more staff members right before the war.

And that was a whole other topic in itself. They were taught about the plans of the upcoming war as soon as they joined Academia. That it was all to unite the four dimensions into one, so that all could live in perfect paradise.

But Yuri has his doubts that is really what they want. 

If Yuji did not draw his attention to it, he would never even have noticed it, even if the signs are everywhere. When he is alone, the Professor doesn't speak of uniting, but reuniting. Saying everyone will be released from the cards once the dimensions unite, but then telling them they are needed as a power source. 

And then there are the weird parts. Yuri and Yuji are definitely not supposed to know about this, only brifly getting informed by Dennis before he was sent to Xyz Dimension. The professor is searching for a girl, multiple girls in fact, if they're right with their suspicion.

Why? They don't know. Dennis showed the photo before he was sent away, but without any more information it didn't bring them much farther in their theories.

She looked absolutely normal, about their age, and definitely not interesting enough to get the Professor's attention. But here they are.

The two know that they will probably be sent out relatively soon. They know that they probably won't be part of the first wave, but their first mission isn't that far away. Relatively speaking. It will probably take over a year till the war officially begins.

Yuri lets himself sink to the ground, he is in Yuji’s room after all. He can show a bit of weakness. If the other boy decided to betray him he would be finished anyway.

The boy in question sets down his tools, crawling over to Yuri. “Hard day?” He asks as he places himself beside the other boy, dropping his head on the other's shoulder.

“We aren't making any progress.” Yuri grumbles. “We still know nothing about this place, and it only gets more confusing the more we find out. We will have to wait till Dennis comes back. His first mission wasn't supposed to take long anyway.”

“I know.” Yuji tells him solemnly. “And the Professor gets more and more anxious around us. It is only a question of time till he does something.” He sets aside one of his tools and takes out a small device from his pocket. “But we are prepared if it comes to it, at least enough to get away.”

Yuri takes out his matching one. Sometimes he thinks about just pressing the button, making this whole island hell incarnate and running away. But he knows then the peace will only be temporary. The Weeds will always regrow unless you kill all of its roots.

Yuji is the first to break the silence. “Do you really think it was the right idea to not just try to convince Dennis to inform the Xyz dimension of the attack?”

Yuri looks up to his friend. To tell the truth he isn't sure about it either. “They won't believe him anyway, and if he tries to use the teleportation function on his disc to prove it he will only end back here since the rest is still locked for him, and you know how that will end. Besides, I still don't think we should trust him with that much.”

“Oh come on. We talked about this. Dennis finds this whole thing as sketchy as us. Have some trust in him.” Yuji tries, even if his eyes show that he knows this won't convince his friend.

Yuri lets himself fall back into the bed, sinking into the soft pillows Yuji always gathers. He sets his duel disc onto the night table as he slowly drifts off into sleep, the quiet clicking of Yuji’s machines giving a feeling of safety as he is lulled into an exhausted sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuri gets some mental stability in human form.


	6. New Scars

Yugo is sitting on a wooden chair beside Yuda, exchanging the wet towel on the other’s head with a new one. The blue-blond boy holds his hand on the other's forehead, trying to feel its temperature.

The heat is so high it almost hurts the young duellist, and a despairing look appears on the boy’s face. They don't have enough money for medicine, even if the whole orphanage would starve for a week. 

Yugo’s eyes drift to the bandages covering the left side of the boy’s face, tears beginning to pool out of his eyes as his mind shifts back to three days ago.

The day started almost like every other. Yugo gets dragged out of bed by Rin and stumbles down into the living area in a half asleep state, leaving Yuda to fill him in for the day.

They are planning to go to the same junkyard as yesterday again. Last time they made so much success that it is only natural to search it more, especially since they haven't even managed to search through everything.

“Then let's go!” Yugo shouts grabbing a bag as he drags his two smiling friends out of the front door, pulling them in the direction of the coast. 

Just like last time the way is mostly uneventful, even faster than last time now that the two boys also know the way.

They get to work as soon as they reach the scrapyard, digging through the piles of old machinery again.

And while they don't find a box of cards this time, they manage to find several more single cards, even if Yugo doesn't think they will fit in any of their decks. 

It is all just like always until Yuda calls the other two over. “Guys! Look at this!” He says, holding out multiple small dirty pieces of equipment.

“What’s that?” Yugo asks as he approaches his friend. He couldn't identify the objects under all the mud.

But as soon as Rin takes one and wipes some of the mud away, recognition flashes in his eyes. “A duel disk! Does it still work? Can you fix it?” The questions bubble out of Yugo as he runs around his friends, trying to get a better look.

“Right now they don't, but they seem in surprisingly good condition.” Yuda tells the others, inspecting one of the disks. “I don't know why they were thrown away, to tell the truth. Maybe someone lost them?” He says, but the doubt is clear in his voice.

“Well, now they are ours, that's what is important!” Yugo declares, gaining a laugh from both of his companions.

They decide to only finish what they started, wanting to go home as soon as possible to give Yuda time to start with the repairs. But if they had known what happened to be on their way home at that moment, they would have never gone.

As soon as they climb over the fence, they can hear a commotion in the distance. The kids give each other a look of understanding. Loud sounds are never a good sign.

They decide to change to another path, doing the best to keep their eyes and ears open for any more potential problems. 

Yugo is first in their formation, Yuda last, while Rin is in the center. The boys always had good senses, especially Yugo, so that role falls to them.

They were just starting to relax, the loud noises fading in the distance, when a loud explosion rocks the earth. 

The shock wave flies over the roofs, causing the boy's ears to ring as the smell of burning gasoline fills the streets. 

Shooting now fills the street, people running around aimlessly as the panic grows.

“We have to get out of here.” Rin tells the boys, the first to have recovered from the blast. The two boys nod, picking up their bags as they run out of the street. 

That was a mistake. 

As soon as the children leave their hiding place a man rushes past them, coming to a halt as soon as they see the three children.

A terrifying grin spreads on his face as he spotts them, grabbing Yuta by his hair and pulling the boy in front of him.

“No step closer!” He shouts to a group of men apparently chasing him, drawing out a switchblade and holding it to the boy’s neck. “Or it will be the end of this boy!”

His pursuers come to a halt as soon as they spot the boy. The one that looks like their leader is the first to speak. 

“So now you are holding a child hostage? I didn't think even you would fall that low.” he says letting out a dry laugh, but suddenly his face twists into something far more menacing. “And even worse, you actually think that some random child would help you get away from us?”

Shock appears on the other man's face as the words leave the pursuers mouth.

“Shit!” He shouts grabbing a pipe out of a pile of waste beside him, showing Yuda in the direction of the pursuers as they start running again.

“Out of the way!” one of them shouts, swinging a rusty baseball bat at the boy, but Yuda is still unbalanced from the push and doesn't react fast enough.

Yugo feels how the world slows down as the man bats his friend into the wall, ignoring the child as he falls to the side, consciousness leaving his body.

“YUDA!” Yugo shouts as he sprints to his side. With shock he sees the blood flow down the others face, a deep cut from the rust metal leaking all over his face, seeping into his cloth.

That moment his body goes into autopilot. He turns to Rin, the girl still too shocked to act, ripping the relatively clean headband of her arm that she likes to wear that way, and presses it into the wound. 

He takes the unconscious boy in his arms, the adrenaline flowing through his veins giving him the strength he needs and turns to Rin. 

“Come! We don't have time!” he shouts, ripping her out of her shock. Yugo starts to run into the direction of the orphanage, without looking back, but he can hear Rin’s steps closely behind him.

He sprints through the streets as he feels the blood seep through the cloth, slowly beginning to dye Yugo’s shirt red, the rusty-sweet smell assaulting his nose.

His memories start to get foggy at this point, probably because of the exhaustion of stressing his own body close to unconsciousness, combined with the shock sinking in.

The next thing he remembers is sitting next to Yuda as the matron bandages his head, a despairing look on her face.

He can hers Rin beside him, quietly crying into her own hands. 

But Yugo’s eyes are focused on his friend, the bloody bandages on his face. He moves closer to the other boy, realizing the other's hand is in his own, as he slowly drifts off, more into unconsciousness than sleep.

The next day isn't much better. The matron tells them and the other kids about Yuda’s condition. She did her best to clean out the other’s wound, but it seems it wasn't enough.

Yugo can smell the stench of the infected injury as soon as he enters the room, the terrible stench almost unbearable to him. But he stays, only leaving the room when Rin takes his place.

One of the older boys went to take back the loot they found the day they were attacked, but Yugo can't even look at it.

The seconds tick by as Yugo tends to his friend, the boy being plagued by his unrelenting fever. 

The young duelist has never felt so weak in his life, helplessly watching his friend suffer right in front of his eyes. He changes the towel again, the tears not stopping to flow.

“Please.” He asks, desperate for something, anything, to hear him. “Please help him. I- I don't know what to do. I will do anything.” He says, his vision swimming with tears, as he falls into unconsciousness beside his friend.

It isn't until much later that he realizes he had been heard.


	7. Strengthening Bonds

For once Yuto isn't as tired as usual when he forces himself out of the bed, quickly changing into his school uniform and runs out of the house.

And there is a good reason for that. Even from this distance the duelist can see the colourful light shine into the sky, announcing the Heartland Academy duel festival. 

Every year the tournament is held. Well, they call it a tournament and Yuto would have loved it if it was the regular bracket variant. This one is held in the form of many one-on- one battles, each win getting your class a point.

But still, the amount of different cards and strategies makes the boy’s heart beat faster. And he didn't even start with the new cards getting released and gifted to the winners. 

The city is already louder than normal, the volume only rising the closer he gets to the school. The entrance to the yards is decorated with colourful signs and pictures. 

A bit too colourful for Yuto’s liking, but what can he do? He continues up to his classroom, opening the door to an already very energetic Yushiro and a really calm Ruri.

“There you are! I was worried you wouldn't come!” he shouts as soon as the duelist enters the room.

Yuto lets out a huff. “I’m still half an hour too early. How long have you even been here already?” He asks his friend.

“That is unimportant right now, let's get down to business!” He says, sitting down at a table with a serious look on his face, pulling out a piece of paper labeled as ‘Plan’.

“Does he want the new cards this much?” Yuto asks Ruri, the girl only returning a wry smile.

“We will have to win all our duels if we want to be able to get the top prize, but the first round is most important since that will allow us a second duel and another chance to gain points. But even if we do that perfectly our other classmates still have to win more than four battle, so it will be a close one.”

But Yuto just ignores the other’s continuous rambling, having heard all of this already. But for his friends sake, he really wishes they win.

__________________________

“...And now I activate the effect of my Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon for the second time, halving your ZW-Leo Arms Atk again, and bringing it down to 750 while the Atk of Dark Rebellion rises to 4750, and now I attack! Lightning Disobey!” Yuto announces, his monster diving in and dealing the finishing blow.

The onlookers give him a cheer as he is declared the winner, his opponent leaving the stage with a dropped head. Ruri walks up to him with a smile.

“With this we should be under the top three, right?” He asks her.

“Well, as long as Yushiro doesn't mess up his own duel, yes.” 

“Oh, he would be so pissed about this, but you know how good he can be if it comes down to it.” He says as they walk up to the stage their friend is battling in.

They reach the field just in time to see his opponent finish his turn.

“With that I equip an Axe of Despair to my Skypalace Gangaridai and end my turn!”

(Atk 3400/Def 3000) → (Atk 4400/Def 3000) hand x0

Yuto lets out a disappointed sigh. “Another ‘Big Number’ kind of guy? There are really too many of them in this city.” He tells Ruri.

“And this one isn't even that strong. I sometimes worry about these duelists.” She answers.

‘They probably try to compensate for something…’ Yuto thinks as he focuses on the field again, his friend’s expression as disappointed as him.

“That's it? Well, I draw then, and begin by Normal Summoning Zoodiac Ratpier, activate her effect to send a Zoodiac Thoroughblade from my deck to the graveyard. Then I use my Zoodiac Ratpier to build an Overlay Network!” Yushiro announces.

“What? You can't Xyz summon with only one monster!” His opponent shouts. 

“Wrong! Once per turn each of my Extra Deck monsters can! Now appears Zoodiac Boarbow! And because it has a Zoodiac Ratpier attached it can detach one Overlay Unit to summon another Ratpier from my deck!” The copy of Ratpier appears in a flash of light.

“And now I use my Boarbow to Xyz summon Zoodiac Tigermortar! Her effect attaches Ratpier from my graveyard to it by detaching Boarbow, letting her summon another Ratpier from my deck!” The third copy of the monster appears, even before the last Overlay Network fully dissipates.

“Then I overlay my two Ratpiers to summon Gagaga Samurai, his effect lets him detach a material to attack twice this turn!” Yushiro calls out as the Overly Unit bursts into a red aura, covering his monster.

(Atk 1900/Def 1600)

“But you still can get over my monster, even if you can attack twice. It only has a measly 1900 Atk!” His opponent calls out.

“I was getting to that! I now Overlay Tigermortar to summon Zoodiac Broadbull, he adding a Zoodiac Whiptail to my hand before I Overlay him into Zoodiac Chakanine, who summons Zoodiac Thoroughblade from my graveyard that I sent there at the start of my turn!”

(Atk 1600/Def 0)

“And now Chakanine changes to Zoodiac Drident! And like all of my Zoodiac Extra deck monsters, her Atk equals that of the materials attached to her, so sadly zero.”

(Atk 0/Def 0)

His opponent looks like he is about to comment on it but is interrupted by Yushiro. “But that doesn't stop her from using her effect! I detach one material from her, and target your monster to destroy it!” He shouts, his monster's weapon lighting up as they shoot it across the field, instantly destroying his opponent's monster.

His opponent looks helplessly at his empty field. 

“Well, a 1900 dopple attack doesn't seem that small to you 4000 lifepoints now, does it? But let's just finish this! Gagaga Samurai and Zoodiac Thoroughblade, attack!”

The two monsters jump into the air, their weapons clashind down on their enemy in a heavy strike, reducing his lifepoints to zero in one hit.

Yuto watches as his friend’s eyes scan the crowd, lighting up as soon as he sees Ruri and him, running to them. 

Yuto can't help the smile that settles on his face. ‘What would I do without this idiot.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one. But it helps character building.


	8. A Path to Change

It is weird for Yugo to wake up on his own, so he is rightfully suspicious when he awakes without Rin shouting at him. In fact, he can hear her still snoring in the bunk bed above him, the sun not even peaking over the horizon.

But his unusual awakeness makes sense when his eyes drift to the empty bed beside him where Yuda is supposed to sleep.

Even in the darkness he can notice the missing presence of his friend, the bed cover unorderly thrown to the side.

Yugo steps out of bed, careful not to wake Rin, searching the house for Yuda. But finding the boy isn't difficult. After all, it isn't the first time this happened.

He finds the boy standing in the bathroom, looking into the old mirror, his attention focused on the scar now covering the entire left side of his face.

He managed to win against the fever, was strong enough to push back against the infection, but it left its signs. As if the scar itself wast already big enough, it is surrounded by the damage done by the infection, the skin turning dark red from tha damage, almost as if burned.

“Hey.” Yugo says, shocking the boy out of his concentration, his whole body flinching.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” He asks, looking away ashamed, attempting to cover his scar with his hand as he brushed his hair to cover it like he had started doing since that day.

“No.” Yugo lies, stepping closer to his friend, his voice soft. “You know we don't think of it like that.” Yugo tells him. This isn't the first time they talked about this.

Tears begin to gather in the other's eyes. “You don't have to lie for me. I know how it looks.”

Yugo takes another step closer, now standing right in front of Yuda. Gently he puts his hand on the others, slowly pulling it away to reveal the scar.

He gently runs one of his fingers over the skin. At first Yugo had been afraid doing so would hurt the boy, but now knows that he has lost all feelings in that part of his skin.

“I mean it. It's not ugly. No one here thinks that, and when did we ever care what others think about us?” He says, pulling his friend in a hug.

Yuda hides his face in Yugo’s neck, the duelist feeling a wet spot spreads over his shoulder as the boy in his arms cries silently, his body giving off small shakes.

It takes a while till Yugo can slowly feel the other boy calm down, the tension leveling his body. He takes the other boy’s hand and silently leads him back to their shared room, Rin still in a deep slumber.

Wordlessly he crawls into his bed, keeping the blanket lifted so the other one can crawl in.

The old bed creaks under the combined weight of the two boys, but right now it is everything they could need. 

Yugo calmingly pets Yuda’s hair till he can slowly feel his friend drift to sleep, only now letting himself return to the dreamland. Because he is sure of one thing, Yuda needs it more.

He knows this won't be the last time this will happen, and it probably won't come for a long time. But if it is for his friend, he will gladly do this a thousand times over again, till he finally starts to heal.


	9. Between Leaves and Steel

Once again, Yuri is reminded why he hates humans so much. 

“Ha! You are supposed to be the ‘The Devil Twins’ everyone is talking about?” The newcomer student lets out another laugh. “And here I thought there would actually be a serious wall in my path to the top of Academia!”

Yuri lets out a sigh. This isn't the first time this happened. Now and then there are some new recruits that had their basic training in one of the outposts and haven't been in the headquarters before.

Yuri is aware that he doesn't have the most intimidating look, with his statue, age and height, but this is a bit too much.

Yuji beside him seems to be thinking the same, an annoyed expression on his face. 

They just finished a briefing with the Professor. Something about the importance of their mission and how they should be an example for all of the other soldiers.

Not that Yuri really listened. The Professor really likes to hold speeches, and the two were the next best in the area, so it fell to them. It's just that after the tenth time you just have enough of hearing the same thing again and again.

Yuji stepping up to the cocky student and his followers drags Yuri out of his concentration.

“Well, if you are so sure about that, why don't we have a duel and prove it to us?” He says, is face and voice friendly.

“Ha! That makes it easy!” He says, activating his duel disk, his two friend following suit, the three idiots completely ignoring the terrified student around them.

Yuri gives his friend a questioning look, the other just shaking his head, signaling he will do this alone. 

Yuri just shrugs, stepping to the side as he leans into one of the columns framing the hall. They didn't have anything better to do anyway.

“Duel!” The four duelists shouts as Yuji activates his own disc.

“I begin!” The leader declares. “I start by activating the field spell Geartown! Then I activate the spell card Ancient Gear Catapult, destroying my own card to summon an Ancient Gear Golem from my deck!” Out of the shards of the destroyed cards ries the metal giant, its eyes giving off an ominous glow.

(Atk 3000/Def 3000)

“Then the effect of the destroyed Geartown activates, summoning an Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon from my hand!” The second monster, this time a mechanical wyvern, appears on the field in a blinding flash. “With this I end my turn.”

(Atk 3000/Def 3000) hand x2

“Now it's my turn! I begin by Normal Summoning Ancient Gear Hunting Hound! Then I activate its effect to Fusion Summon, using two more Hunting Hounds from my hand! Now appears Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!”

(Atk 1800/Def 1000)

The monster appears on the field, a really familiar creature for the students of Academia. After all it is the main piece of the Obelisk force.

“And with that I end my turn!”

hand x2

“And I also start by activating Geartown!” The next declares. “Because of its on field effect I can Normal Summon Ancient Gear Beast without tributing!” The last of the opponents announces, a different kind of mechanical dog appearing on the field. “And with that I end my turn!”

(Atk 2000/Def 2000) hand x3

“Well, it looks like it is finally my turn.” Yuji says, casually drawing a card.

“I will begin by activating the field spell Union Hangar, adding a Y-Dragon Head from my deck to my hand. Then I activate Unexpected Dai and Special Summon X-Head Cannon from my deck.” He calls out as the canon equipped machine appears on the field.

(Atk 1800/Def 1500)

“After that I Normal Summon Y-Dragon Head. That activates the effect of Union Hangar, letting me equip a Union Driver from my deck to it. Then the Union Driver banishes itself to equip Z-Metal Tank from my deck to it.” Another machine appears on the field, but standing behind the first line of monsters, instead increasing the other monsters attack.

(Atk 1500/Def 1600) → (Atk 2100/Def 2200) 

“After that I activate the field spell Pseudo Space, banishing Union Hangar, and because Z wasn't equipped by its own effect, it can Special Summon itself. And now Pseudo Space activates the effect of Union Hangar it copied by banishing it, equiping a B-Buster Drake from my deck. Then I activate Unauthorized Reactivation, also equipping a A-Assault Core from my deck to Z-Metal Tank!”

(Atk 1500/Def 1300)

Then a grin spread over his face. “Then I use my monster and use them for a Contact Fusion!” He declares as his monsters rise into the sky, uniting into a hulking figure.

“Now combine, my monsters! Create a machine to destroy all my enemies! Descend! XYZ-Dragon Cannon!” He calls out as the combined form of his monsters appears on the field, its cannons and other weapons looming ominously.

(Atk 2800/Def 2600)

“What?! Fusion summoning without a spell card?” One of his opponents shouts, the shock clear in his face.

“And that's not all! As I fusion summon the equipped monsters are sent to the graveyard, activating their effects! B-Buster Drake adds a C-Crush Wyvern from my deck to my hand and A-Assault Core returns Z-Metal Tank from my graveyard to my hand.” He says, adding the cards to his hand.

“And now let's get offensive! I send C-Crush Wyvern from my hand to the graveyard to destroy your Ancient Gear Beast!” His monster fires a blast, ripping the monster into shreds.

“And now the real fun begins! You were already surprised by first Contact Fusion? Then look at this! From my graveyard I banish A-Assault Core, B-Buster Drake and C-Crush Wyvern to Contact Fuse them into ABC-Dragon Buster!” From his duel disc erupts a light, mirages of the three monsters rising into the sky and combining into a new form.

(Atk 3000/Def 2800)

“Impossible! How can you Fusion Summon using monsters in your graveyard without a spell?!” The opponents cry out again, but get ignored by Yuji, the boy by now used to this kind of reaction.

“Then I activate its effect by discarding Edge Imp Chain, banishing your Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!” He declares, sending the card to the graveyard as his dragon shoots a laser at his opponent's monster, evaporating it in one hit.

“And now Edge Imp Chain’s effect activates, adding a Frightfur Patchwork from my deck to my hand, immediately activating it to add a Fusion Substitute and another Edge Imp Chain from my deck to my hand!” 

Yuri still remembers the time Yuji has seen the one recruit use that card, immediately rushing off to use this as a continuous source of materials to activate his monster's effects. 

He kind of wonders what happened to that student. Seeing a non Ancient Gear deck being used by a student isn't that common, and the deck definitely had potential in swarming the entire field with monsters, even if at that time its user lacked the abilities for that.

Yuri’s eyes focus back on the field, knowing what is about to come. It’s not that often that Yuji brings out his true ace, but it is a spectacle every time. 

“Now, one again, I use my monsters to Contact Fuse!” He shouts out, his already enormous monsters rising into the sky. “Oh my dragons with bodies of steel! Combine your might and turn into the creation of ultimate destruction! Appear! A-to-Z-Dragon Buster Cannon!”

(Atk 4000/Def 4000)

The two monsters collide in a blinding light, the ground around the duelists shaking as the moving mountain of metal descends to the ground before Yuji. The new monster is covered by electric flashes, the three dragon’s heads, giving off an ominous glow as they prepare to attack.

“Now battle! Attack!” Yuji orders, pointing at one of the students with an empty field. 

The student flinches, taking a step back and turns as if attempting to run, but it is useless. The dragon shoots out a destructive blast, all of its weapons combining into one beam of pure energy. 

The blast hits his opponent full force, sending him into the wall with a painful sounding crash knocking him out instantly as his lifepoints fall to zero.

“But that's not all! Now I use the effect from A-to-Z, banishing itself to split back into its parts!” He shouts out, his monster dividing back into its materials in a flash of light. “And now they can attack too! And both of them attack you!” He says, pointing at the other person with an empty field. 

(Atk 3000/Def 2800) (Atk 2800/Def 2600)

Again, the energy builds up in his monster's weapons, another blast getting released, the combined damage reducing the next opponent's lifepoints to zero as he flies into the hall’s wall.

“And that only leaves you.” Yuji sas, his eyes falling onto the one that proposed this battle. “I end my Battle Phase, but you won’t get away this easily. Now that my monsters were resummoned to the field, they can activate their effects again! So I discard Fusion Substitute and banish your Ancient Gear Golem with ABC-Dragon Buster’s effect, and I discard Union Scramble to activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon’s effect, destroying your other monster!”

His two monsters release a blast each, melting the others monsters into a file of molten iron as they are destroyed.

“And now that they finished with their attack, I will combine them to A-to-Z-Dragon Buster Cannon again!” Once more a light floods the field, the enormous dragon reemerging. “But that is all. I end my turn.”

His opponent just looks at him with fear in his eyes, drawing his card with shaking hands. “I draw.” The declare weakly, a look of hope flying over the others face. 

“I activate the spell card Ancient Gear Fusion!” He calls out, slapping the card down on his duel disc. But his enthusiasm is short lived. 

“In response I activated the effect of A-to-Z-Dragon Buster Cannon! By discarding a card I can negate the effect and destroy the card!” He calls out the opponent's card shattering into a million pieces, together with every hope of winning.

“Now the effect of the send Edge Imp Chain activities, adding a Frightfur Patchwork from my deck to my hand. And at the same time I activate the effect of A-to-Z-Dragon Buster Cannon to split him into his parts again!”

He declares, drawing a card as his monster splits in two.

The opponent just looks at him with despair in his eyes. “I end my turn…” He says, his eyes drifting to the ground in despair.

“Well, then we shouldn't let the audience wait any longer!” Yuji says, drawing a card. “Let's end this! ABC-Dragon Buster and XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Attack!” 

Once again the monsters get in position, their energy blast as destructive as before, his enemy getting swept away by the explosion.

“Well, now that this is over, let's finish this up.” he says, standing in front of his barely conscious opponents.

“No! Please spare us! We will do anything!” One of them cries out, but his begging is ignored, a bright flash filling the hall, only three cards remaining at the students' places when it subsides.

Yuji kneels down, picking them up to stuff them into his pocket as he walks back to Yuri, ignoring the horrified looks of the other students.

Yuri welcomes him with a questioning look. “It's unusual for you to card your opponent.” He notes.

His friend just shrugs in response. “The people started getting too comfortable around us. They might actually take note of what we are doing if they aren't terrified anymore.” He tells the Preadaplant user.

To that Yuri just nods in agreement. His friend is right, after all. They can't take any risks with this.


	10. Dealing with Pain

Yugo frantically runs through the old decaying storage building, his eyes searching for every possible movement.

“Yuda! Where are you?!” His voice is full of worry as he shouts through the seemingly empty building, but no one answers.

Then suddenly a loud sound catches the blonds attention, permeating through the old sheet metal that makes out the buildings walls.

The boy doesn't waste any time crawling through a hole under the metal, looking through the other side. 

“Yuda!” The blond shouts to his friend, the boy surrounded by two older men.

“Another one? Are you kids aware on whose turf you are?” One of them says, walking closer to the friends.

“How would we know?!” Yugo shouts to them, standing up from the ground. “It's not like you really marked it in any way!”

“Oh, a cheeky on, aren't you? Didn't your mother tell you to be polite to your elders?” One of them says with a laugh. “But I am in a good mood today, so I guess we will let you go if you leave those duel disks and cards here.”

“What?! Forget it! You aren't getting anything! Yuda, we are getting out of here.” The Speedroid user says, only for his way to be blocked by the other man.

“You ain't going anywhere without our permission.” The man tells them, activating his duel disk, his accomplice following. “Since you don't seem to hand over your stuff willingly, we will have to solve this the hard way.”

“Shit, looks like they wont let us go that easily. You ready Yuda?” He asks his friend, the boy activating his duel disk without a word, simply nodding, staying eerily quiet the whole time. Not that that was an unusual thing since the incident.

But that doesn't mean that Yugo is used to it by now, even if these phases are now a part of his friend.

Although to his surprise Yuda lifts his hand in front of him. 

“I will take care of this alone. You don't have to endanger yourself even more.” Yuda says, his voice raspy from disuse.

“But-” Yugo starts, but is interrupted by the duelists activating their discs.

“Well isn't that funny! You actually think you can win against the two of us?” One of the men says, turning to his friend. “I will have fun with this one on my own, or it will be over too fast. You can get the second one after I obliterate his friend in front of his eyes.”

His accomplice smiles, simply nodding as the other activates his duel disc.

“Duel!” The two announce in union, Yugo’s pleading to his friend ignored.

“I draw.” Yuda says. “I begin by activating Supply Squad. Then follow up with Crystron Sulfefnir’s effect, summoning himself by sending Crystron Thystvern from my hand to the graveyard. But because it was summoned this way, he is destroyed immediately.”

The opponents look in confusion as the newly summoned monster destroys itself, the crystalline body shattering into a thousand pieces.

“But because it was destroyed, its effect activates, summoning Crystron Prasiortle from my deck and Supply Squad lets me draw a card. Then I activate Crystron Prasiortle’s effect, destroing itself to summon Crystron Rion.

(Atk 500/Def 500)

“Then I banish Crystron Thystvern from my graveyard to add Crystron Citree from my deck to my hand, and then Normal Summon her.”

(Atk 500/Def 500)

“Then set two card face down and end my turn.” He says, putting the cards into the disc.

hand x2

“Are you serious? That's everything?” His opponent asks, seemingly suppressing a laugh. “You are even more pathetic than I thought! This will end really fast!” He says, drawing a card. 

“I begin by activating Unexpected Dai, summoning a Basic Insect from my deck! And then I can activate Worm Bait since I control an insect monster, getting two tokens on my side of the field!”

The three bugs crawl out of the ground in front of their owner, their fans giving out small clicking sounds.

“Then I Normal Summon Plaguespreader Zombie, and Synchro Summon! Unite my monsters! Now appear, level 8, Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons!”

(Atk 3000/Def 3000)

But that is the moment Yuda jumps in. “I activate the effect of Crystron Citree, she summons Crystron Prasiortle from my graveyard and immediately after that, I Synchro Summon! Appear, level 4, Crystron Quandax!” 

Yuda’s new monster appears on the field, its body glittering in the light as it sinks to the ground.

“Well, it looks like you have at least some talent.” His opponent says, unbothered by the unusual display. “And I have to admit, no one synchro summon in my turn before. Those cards might actually be worth something. But that monster isn't nearly enough to win against me.”

“I’m not finished. The materials used for the summon are banished instead of sent to the graveyard, and now I activate the trap card Crystron Impact, special summoning my banished Prasiortle, and with the effect of Crystron Quandax!, I Synchro Summon again! Now my three monsters, unite into your ultimate form! Level 9, Crystron Quariongandrax!”

(Atk 3000/Def 3000)

“As he is summoned, his effect activates! I can target cards on your field and graveyard up to the number of Synchro material used for its summon and banish them! Crystal Discharge!”

A blinding light is released from Yuda’s monster, drowning the entire field and Yugo has to cover his eyes from the brightness. But suddenly he feels a hand grab onto his sleeve.

“We are running.” Yuda says, dragging his friend into a side alley using the light as cover.

“But you could have easily won this!” Yugo tries, but follows his friend away into the depth of the slums, jumping over a fence to escape this supposed territory.

“And give the other guy time to fight and call for reinforcements?” Yuda asks, and Yugo can't disagree with that.

They hurry through the streets, soon reaching back to the orphanage, setting down their bags filled with random stuff they picked up today as soon as they close the door.

“Yugo lest out a breath as he drops into an empty chair, Yuda sitting down beside him. 

“Are you okay?” The orange haired boy asks as Yugo lets out a deep breath.

“I’m okay, but you should rather worry about yourself. Being the one who duelled and all.” the blond returns, raising his head to look at his friend, searching his body for any wounds.

He knows his friend can take care of himself, but Yugo prefers making sure himself, lifting the others arm to look for any scratches.

The other lets him, relaxing into the others gentle touch, so unusual for the energetic boy outside of this.

“Please let me fight the next time.” the blond tells his friend. “I don't want to see you hurt again.” he admits in a quiet voice.

“I was the logical decision. You don't have a card that works as an efficient way to escape and you know that.” Yuda answers. “And it's not like we will be able to avoid conflict as long as we live here.”

“Then I will find a way to get us away from here. To make sure you and Rin are never in danger again.” Yugo says with a determined voice.

But his friend just lets out a single sad laugh. “I’m really happy you feel like that, but we both know that's not possible. We are just some Common orphans after all.”

“Not if I become the Duel King. Then no one will dare to come close to any of you.” Yugo tells his shocked friend.

“Wha-?! Do you know what you are talking about?! That would mean entering the Friendship Cup and you know what they say about the people who enter it! Disappearing without a trace! You can't do that!”

“I will. It's the only way.” Yugo says, turning away to walk up into his room.

But Yuda grabs his hand and turns him around, standing face to face when Yuda suddenly envelops the blond in a hug.

“No. Please don't. No safety I would get is worth risking your life for. Don't endanger yourself even more than we already have to. … You shouldn't end up like me.” He ends, raising his hand to the scar hidden behind his hair.

The words stop Yugo in his tracks. “You know I don't find it ugly, or anything like that. Not the scar, and especially not you, always remember that. That one old wound doesn't define who you are. And you are right. I won't go to the Friendship Cup. It is way too risky. And I can't leave you and Rin to take care of this place on your own.” Yugo says, gently pulling away the others hand and taking it in his own. 

He attempts to smile, and even if it comes out weak, his friend returns it. 

“We should take some rest. I’m sure Rin and the others can sort out the parts alone for today.” Yugo suggests, his friend silently nodding as Yugo starts to lead him up the stairs.

It is hours later when Rin finds the two peacefully sleeping in the small bed in their room.


	11. Dreams from a Different Life

Yuya is awoken by the rustling of a blanket beside him, the unusual sound dragging him out of his slumber.

He looks up to see his friends Yuta and Yume on mattresses beside him, the latter already awake and sorting through his cards while Yuta still continues to roll around in the bedding.

The three were having a sleepover at Yuya’s the duelist now remembers as his brain slowly awakes.

“Morning.” Yume says casually, his eyes barely lifting from his cards. “How did you sleep?” 

Yuya lets out a jawn. “Okay I think. Yuta snores.” 

“I noticed. It seems he isn't satisfied with only being loud during the day.” Yume says, rolling his eyes, but a small smile creeps onto his face. His eyes drift back to Yuya. “There is something on your mind. Spit it out.”

Yuya sits up, placing himself down on the mattress beside his friend. “I had a weird dream, I guess? Odd-eyes was in it, and some other dragons. And there was this feeling that I should really know their names, but just can’t remember them?” He tries to explain.

Yume just shrugs in response. “If you want someone to tell you the mystical meaning behind it, I could try to get Mieru on it.” the boy offers.

But Yuya denies. I was just a normal dream after all, right?

The two are interrupted by Yuta throwing one of his legs onto the other mattress as he moves in his sleep again, nearly hitting Yume’s deck out of the blue haired boy’s hands.

Yume immediately responds by grabbing a pencil lying on the floor and sticking it into the sleeping boy’s nose.

“Ew! Yume!” Yuya shouts, trying to retrieve his pencil from the now very awake and shouting Yuta.

“Yume you idiot! Why the hell did you do that!” He shouts.

The boy in question doesn't even look at him, standing up and changing into his everyday cloth. “Do you want a list or do you have time for the next four hours?” He says, walking out of the room.

The other boys change out of their pyjamas too, Yuya suppressing a laugh at the various curses leaving Yuta’s mouth. When they exit Yuya’s room they can already spot the other sitting at the dining table, casually speaking with Yoko.

“There you are boys! Don't let the food get cold!” She tells them, setting down a place of the pancakes the three friends like so much.

Yume doesn't even wait for the others to sit down until he starts devouring them at a surprising speed. “Amazing as always. Even after watching you do it so many times I still don't know how you do that. I really wish my aunt could cook like this.” He tells Yoko, earning a blush from the woman.

“Ah, thank you! I try my best.” She says, putting more pancakes on his plate. “You should really learn some manners from your friend, Yuya.” She tells her son, getting a pout from him in return.

“So what's your plan for today again, boys?” She asks, just wanting to confirm what they talked about yesterday.

Yuta is the first to respond. “The Newcomer Duell League! Finally an official championship we can take part in! We will stomp the other guys into the ground!”

Yoko lets out a small laugh at the boy’s enthusiasm. 

“We should get going in about an hour.” Yume tells her, showing another whole pancake into his mouth. “If the other two are ready by then.”

“Don't worry. I don't think we would ever be late for that.” Yuya tells him. “We can finally fight against strong opponents beside each other!” 

That was the boys main motivation in the tournament. There weren't big prizes involved, but that wasn't important to the lookalikes. It was just that at this point it was pretty monotone to always fight against each other.

They hurry to finish their food, running back up into Yuya’s room to grab their bags and duel disks before running out of the house.

“See you later mom!” Yuya calls inside before following after his friends.

The walk to the stadium doesn't take that long, Yuya’s home not being that far from it. As they enter they immediately walk up to the register. 

“Hello! How can I help you?” The lady sitting at the desk asks with a smile. 

“We are here for the championship! These are our registrations!” Yuya tells her, putting all of their three forms on the table.

“Wonderful! Just go to that waiting room over there with the other duelists. Your names will be called when it is you time.” She gestures down the hall, letting them through to the waiting room after scanning the papers.

As the boys expected, it is filled with children of differing ages, but most older than them. The three did enter with the minimum age, after all.

The boys can see recognition flash in some of the other kids eyes as they enter the room. They did have quite a reputation after all.

Luckily they don't have to wait long till they are called into the arena.

“Well, see you later I guess.”Yuta says before running out of the room, Yume excusing himself too as he walks to his designated spot.

Yuya gives them one last wave before he goes on his way, barely able to keep in his excitement.

______________

To Yuya's slight disappointment, the first duel was really easy. Not much harder than the random kids in the park, but he will take what he can get. His friends already finished their battle too, joining him on the way.

They are on the way back to the waiting room when he sees someone very familiar stand in the hallway.

“Mom! What are you doing here?”

“Did you really think I wouldn't come to my boy’s first official tournament?” She asks, getting a smile out of her son. “And the others probably thought that too.” She continues, gesturing to Yuta’s grandparents, and Yume’s foster family now visible behind her.

The two other boys run to meet their families while Yuya stays with his mother.

“But I have to admit, you were incredible out there! You really showed that LDS kid how it's done!” She says with a smile on her face, ruffling Yuya’s hair.

The boy is just about to answer when a loud bell cuts him off. “That concluded the first stage of the Newcomer Duell League! All the winners please return to the arena!” The announcer's voice halls through the corridor.

“Well, it looks like this will have to wait till later. Go get them!” She says, giving Yuya a thumbs up, making her way back into the audience.

Yume is the first one to speak up as they walk back. “How was your opponent? Mine was pretty weak, actually.”

“Mine too. But they should get better with every round, right?” Yuta says, trying to be optimistic.

“Well, I hope so, or we will face off against each other in the finale, and that would make the whole thing useless.” Yume says. “But I guess we can still hope. See you later!” he finishes, making a turn left to get his next designated battlefield.”

“Well, if it would really come to that, the audience will be in for quite a spectacle.” Yuya tells Yume. And the kind of publicity You Show duel school would get would certainly help too. “Just imagine the embarrassment for LDS if all the top places would be taken up by a now insignificant school!”

“Well, I guess we will find out then. See you in the semifinals I guess.” Yuto says jokingly. “But what I will expect of LDS, they will do everything in their power to keep up their reputation. So be prepared for anything!” the boy finishes as they split off.

Yuya just hopes that his friend's suspicions are nothing more than that.

_________________________

They weren't, at all.

“So now we will make the next round more interesting by changing up the format! Each duel will be held in battles of four people in a battle royal! Now all participants look at your matchups please!” The announcer calls out.

Yuya immediately sighs as he spots his opponents. “All from LDS, what a coincidence.” He mubles, searching for his friends' names, only to see that they are thrown into the same situation. “So it will be three on one I guess. But that way we might actually get the hard battles we wanted to have.”

Yuya makes his way to the field as the thought continues to flow around his head. He is actually quite surprised how fast they reacted, only letting the friends have one more duel before changing the rule in their favor.

A grin spreads over the boy's face. “But that also means that if we win anyway, the defeat will be even more crushing.”

He steps onto the stage, his opponents already waiting for him.

“You really let us wait! Got scared?” The LDS student asks in a cocky voice. 

‘He probably doesn't know about me then, or there would be at least some reaction. So I can use the surprise factor of my deck's abilities.’ Yuya gives them an obviously fake smile, activating his duel disc. “Let's just start this.”

“Well, it looks like you can't wait for your defeat, tomato boy!” One of them shouts, letting out a huff.

“Duel!” They shout in union as the action field activates, one of the opponents taking the lead.

“I begin by Normal Summoning Deep Sea Diva! Her effect summons another copy of herself from my deck.” The mermaid appears on the field in a blue light, the dopple following soon after.

“Then I activate the spell card Dopple Summon so I can immediately use them to Tribute Summon Spiral Serpent! And with that I end my turn!”

(Atk 2900/Def 2900) hand x2

“Now it's my turn! First I Special Summon Jester Confit from my hand using its effect, but then I immediately tribute it to summon Gaap the Divine Soldier! And then I set one card and end my turn!”

(Atk 2200/Def 2000) hand x2

“And now it's my round! First I summon Pinch Hopper. But then I activate the spell card Insect Imitation, tributing it to summon an insect monster from my deck that is one level higher, and I chose Millenium Scorpion!”

(Atk 2000/Def 1800) 

“And then the effect of Pinch Hopper activates because it was sent to the graveyard, letting me summon a Dreadscythe Harvester from my hand! And with that I end my turn!”

(Atk 2300/Def 1600) hand x2

Yuya lets his eyes drift over the opponent's field. ‘Well, that should be manageable.’

“Well, then I guess it's my turn! I draw! Because you control a special summoned monster and I don’t I can Special Summon Performapal Radish Horse from my hand!”

(Atk 500/Def 2000)

A grin spreads over his face. “Then I activate the spell card Polymerisation!” 

“What?! But you only learn that in the special LDS courses!” One of the opponents shouts.

Unbothered Yuya continues. “I use Odd-Eyes Dragon and Performapal Silver Claw in my hand to Fusion Summon! Now appear! Beast Eyes Dragon!”

(Atk 3000/Def 2000)

The wild looking dragon appears on the field in a whirl of color, the ground shaking as it hits the earth.

It took Yuya quite some time to figure this out, but it was more than worth the work. But he only managed to do this thanks to his friends, the two helping him collect information that LDS tries to keep for themselves.

How does one even monopolize a summoning technique?! 

He thought about adding Xyz to his arsenal too, maybe even Synchro, but for now he should focus on mastering Fusion. 

But that is for sometime later, for now he should concentrate on the duel.

“Then I Normal Summon Performapal Friendonkey! And because of his effect I get to summon Performapal Silver Claw from my graveyard! And I follow that up with the spell card Monster Reborn, resummoning my Odd-Eyes Dragon too!” 

(Atk 1600/Def 600)

(Atk 1800/Def 700)

(Atk 2500/Def 2000)

“Now I activate the effect of Radish Horse, targeting Gaap the Divine Soldier and my Odd-Eyes Dragon! So now my monster gains Atk equal to that of Radish Horse while yours louses the same amount! So 500 points.”

(Atk 2500/Def 2000) → (Atk 3000/Def 2000)

(Atk 2200/Def 2000) → (Atk 1700/Def 2000)

“And now to the Battle Phase! First I attack Spiral Serpent with my Beast Eyes Dragon!” Yuya announces, his dragon’s attack destroying his opponent's monster instantly, dealing 100 damage to his lifepoints.

“And now Beast Eyes’ effect activates, dealing direct damage equal to the beast monster used for its fusion summon! So 1800 points!” The dragon shoots another blast as Yuya’s opponent, throwing him off his feet.

“And now Performapal Silver Claw attacks, and in that moment his effect activates, increasing the Atk of all monsters I control by 300 untill the end of the Battle Phase!” 

(Atk 1800/Def 700) → (Atk 2100/Def 700)

(Atk 1600/Def 600) → (Atk 1600/Def 600)

(Atk 3000/Def 2000) → (Atk 3300/Def 2000)

(Atk 500/Def 2000) → (Atk 800/Def 2000)

“And with that his Atk now is equal to your remaining lifepoints!” Yuya says as his monster slashes at his opponent, reducing his life to zero.

“Now to the next one! Odd-Eyes Dragon attacks your Gaap the Divine Soldier! And because of Odd-Eye’s effect the 1600 points of battle damage you would take are doppled!” 

The flame of Yuya’s signature dragon grows into a storm of flames, breaking through the opponent's monster and into the monster's owner.

“Now Radish Horse takes out the last of your lifepoints! Attack!” The monster's weak attack is enough to reduce the remaining life to zero, the second opponent dropping to the ground.

“And now I finish my turn by setting a card face down! Go on, show me what you can do!” He calls out to his last remaining opponent.

Said boy gives him an angry look. “I will end this! I draw! I Normal Summon another Pinch Hopper, but this time I activate Duplication of Ants, tributing it to summon two Ant Tokens! And because Pinch Hopper was sent to the graveyard, I can summon a Millenium Scorpion from my hand!” 

(Atk 2000/Def 1800) 

“And now I activate the effect of Dreadscythe Harvester, tributing the two Ant Tokens, and Dreadscythe gains 500 Atk for each!”

(Atk 2300/Def 1600) → (Atk 3300/Def 1600)

“And then to the Battle Phase! Fist my Dreadscythe Harvester attacks your Beast Eyes Dragon!” He announces, his monster flying over to strike the dragon.

But suddenly a grin spreads over Yuya’s face. “You fell for it! I activate the trap card Performer’s Substitute! If you attack one of my monsters, I can return it to my hand and change the attack to another of my monsters, but that's not all! The new targeted monster gains Atk equal to the returned monsters Atk!”

(Atk 2500/Def 2000) → (Atk 5500/Def 2000)

The opponent's monster tries to strike down Odd-Eyes, but it's weapon helplessly clashes against the scales without doing damage. Then the dragon opens his maw right in front of the other monster's body, releasing a destructive flame from point black.

“And now again, because of Odd-Eyes effect, the battle damage is doppled! So 4400 damage!”

His monster continues with the attack as the monster is burned to embers, swallowing his opponent in an ocean of flames.

For a moment the stadium falls into silence, then erupting in a loud cheer. 

“And the winner is Sakaki Yuya!” The announcer calls out. “Knocking out his opponent in their own turn and advancing in the quarter finals!”

At all the happy cheering crowds, Yuya can't help the smile creep on his face.


	12. The Old Arts

As Yuya steps out of the stadium, the good feeling of his satisfying victory against all odds still lingering in his body, he runs into Yuta.

The other gives him a smile as soon as he sees him. “Hey Yuya! You really showed them how it's done!”

“Thanks! You were already finished?” The redhead asks.

Yuta drops his head in response. “You should have seen them! Does LDS let everyone enter? They probably didn't even know the effects of their own cards! Even with that blatant cheating they were pathetic!” The monarch user complains.

Yuya steps closer, sympathetically laying his hand on the other's shoulder. 

“Oh, wait. That wasn't why I went here. I wanted to get you to Yume’s duel. One of the guys he was supposed to go up against was late so they are just starting. We might still get there in time for Yume to stomp that arrogant prick into the ground.” Yuta snickers. 

Luckily when they reach the arena, the duel hasn't even started.

“...So I, the great Sawatari Shingo, will show you the strength of LDS!” One of Yume’s opponents declares, getting a cheer from his lackeys, seemingly the other two duelists.

“Well, if you are so amazing I will at least get to start.” Yume says sarcastically, his duel disc activating.

“Well, I have nothing against it! I will finish this in one turn anyway!” The other calls out.

“Duel!” 

“I begin by activating the quick play spell Megalith Unformed. By tributing the level 8 monster Megalith Aratron in my hand I can Ritual Summon a Megalith Hagith from my deck! Hagith effect then adds the field spell Megalith Portal to my hand, which I activate immediately!”

Over the field appears an enormous stone structure, made from pitch black and snow white materials, spanning the whole range of the battlefield.

“Then I activate Hagith’s effect, tributing it to Ritual Summon Megalith Phul from my hand in defence position!

(Atk 500/Def 2000)

“When it is Ritual Summoned it can target a ritual monster in my graveyard, returning it to my hand while copying its level! I chose Megalith Aratron! Then I activate Phul’s second effect! I tribute the newly returned Aratron, Ritual Summoning a Megalith Ophiel from my deck, also in defence position!”

(Atk 1600/Def 2500)

“That activates the effect of both Ophiel and the field spell Portal, Ophiel adding a Megalith Och from my deck while Portal returns Aratron again! And then I tribute Ophiel using her own effect to ritual summon Och from my hand to defence position!”

(Atk 1000/Def 2700)

“That activates Och’s effect, drawing a card and then discarding one!” He says, drawing a card and discarding a Magician of Chaos. 

“And now I Normal Summon a Senju of the Thousand Hands, his effect adding a Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier from my deck to my hand.” 

(Atk 1400/Def 1000)

“But I immediately discard him to activate the effect of Impcantation Chalislime, summoning a Impcantation Candoll whose effect adds the ritual spell Impcantation Inception to my hand! But Candoll won't stay long because I tribute it using Impcantation Inception to Ritual summon another Megalith Ophiel from my hand in defence, her effect adding a Megalith Och from my deck.”

(Atk 1600/Def 2500)

“Then I activate the effect of Impcantation Inception in my graveyard, sending Impcantation Chalislime from my hand to the graveyard to add it to my hand and summoning Impcantation Talismandra to my hand! Then Talismandra adds a Lord of the Red from my deck to my hand! And with that I end my turn.” He says.

(Atk 0/Def 0) hand x4

Suddenly his opponent lets out a laugh. “Is that really everything?! Just building up a wall of weak monsters won't help you win in any way!”

Yume just returns him a cocky grin. “Well, why don't you start then?”

“Oh I will! And I begin by activating the spell Double Summon. First I summon Light Effigy and then, because it counts as two tributes for the tribute summon of a normal light monster, I tribute it to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” Sawatari shouts out, the dragon appearing on the field.

“Look! With just this monster I will be able to destroy every single of-” 

“I activate the effect of Megalith Phul.” Yume interrupts him. “I tribute my Senju of the Thousand Hands and Impcantation Talismandra to Ritual Summon a Megalith Bethor from my deck in defence position.”

(Atk 1500/Def 2600)

“Wha-? You can summon in my turn?!” Sawatari shouts.

“And that is not all! When Bethor is ritual summoned I can target and destroy cards my opponent controls up to the number of Ritual monsters with different names in my graveyard, and guess what I did collect there my whole turn!”

Then suddenly the ritual users enthusiasm drops. “Well, I only need one for your pathetic field, but that is off topic, but for your information, right now that would be five.”

“FIVE CARDS?!” The opponents shout as Yume’s monster begins to glow, the beam of energy ripping through his opponent's monster, shattering it into a million pieces.

But his opponent recovers surprisingly quickly. “This isn't over! I set two cards and end my tur-”

“Not so fast! I activate the effect of Megalith Och, tributing it to summon a new Megalith Och from my hand! That activates the effects of Och and my field spell, first adding the tributed Och back to my hand, and then I draw one card and discard Magician of Black Chaos MAX. And what do you know, he is another ritual monster. And now you can end your turn.” Yume finishes with a grin.

“Shit! I will do this!” One of the lackeys says, drawing his card. “I will begin by activating Mausoleum of the Emperor! Then I pay 2000 lifepoints to substitute for two tributes, summoning Jurrac Titano!”

“Did you learn nothing? I activate the effect of Megalith Phul again, tributing Megalith Aratron in my hand to Ritual summon a second Megalith Bethor from my deck.”

“You have more then one of them?!” The boy shouts, Yume just giving him a disappointed look.

“Obviously. This time I target you monster and field spell, and both of Sawatari’s set cards!” He shouts out ignoring the screeching of the latter, all the cards getting destroyed anyway.

“And again I activate the effect of Och, replacing it with a new one, but this time I don't add the old Och back with Portal, but my Megalith Aratron, and I draw a card and discard Impcantation Inception. Go one, continue with your turn.”

The other looks into his hand in despair. For a moment he looks like he plans to set another card, but realizes how useless that would be. “...I end my turn.”

The next one in line seems equally happy with the situation. “I draw.” He helplessly looks into his hand. “I set one monster and end my-”

“Oh, didn't we talk about this already? I have things to do too! Again I activate the effect of Phul, but this time I tribute a Bethor from my field to replace him with a new one from my deck! And I use its effect to destroy your monster.”

The card flips up to reveal a Giant Soldier of Stone, the monster getting destroyed instantly. “Portal adds back a Megalith Ophiel from my graveyard. And now you can end your turn.”

Suddenly the silence is broken by Sawatari. “But with this you are out of monsters! You can only have three of a kind! And with that pitiful attack you won’t be able to knock out all of us!” Sawatari says confidently, but the smile leaves his face as soon as he sees Yume’s grin.

“Do you really think Bethor is the only monster in my deck that profits from the ritual monsters in my graveyard? Well, it looks like I have to prove you wrong! I draw! I begin by tributing my Megalith Phul with its own effect, and because it is still treated as level 8 from back where it first hit the field, I can summon a Megalith Phaleg from my deck!”

(Atk 2500/Def 1200)

The white statue descends onto the field giving of a menacing red glow, an enormous spear in its hands. 

“And now for its effect! While he is on the field, all monsters control gain 300 Atk and Def for every single ritual monster in my graveyard, which currently is eight, so 2400 points! But why stop there? I tribute my Ophiel, replacing it with a new on in my hand. The new Ophiel adds a Megalith Hagith to my hand, and I ritual summon him with the help of Och as he tribute himself! So now I have two more monsters in the graveyard, so the boost becomes 3000!”

(Atk 2500/Def 1200) → (Atk 5500/Def 4200)

(Atk 1300/Def 2600) → (Atk 4300/Def 5600)

(Atk 1600/Def 2500) → (Atk 4600/Def 5500)

(Atk 1500/Def 2600) → (Atk 4500/Def 5600) x2

“Now I set my two Bethor to attack position. Any last words? Doesn't look like it, so attack!”

Around each monster energy collects, before getting released in the form of a powerful beam of light, hitting the opponents and throwing them off the field while reducing the lifepoints of all three to zero. 

Over Yume’s head a sign appears declaring him the winner as he walks off the stage. “Well, that was disappointing. I thought at least if they cheat they would be kind of difficult.”

“Well done Yume.” A voice comes from his side, Yuta and Yuya approaching him. 

“Well, at least you two got to see something good.” He tells his friends.

“I don't think LDS will ever recover from this.” Yuya snickers, the tree walking back to the waiting room.


	13. Newcomer Duell League Final

Well, to say Yuya is surprised would be a lie. “So now in the final we have Yuya against Yume! Both students from You Show Academy!” 

“I would be standing there if I didn't brick completely!” Comes a shout that Yuya can identify as Yuta, the boy still angry to lose his duel because his entire starting hand was made out of high level monsters.

“Begin!” The announcer calls out, the two duelists activating their disks as a smile blooms on Yuya’s face.

___________________

Yuya takes a step back as he takes in Yume's filled field, filled to the brim with monsters.

Lord of the Red (Atk 2400/Def 2100)

Megalith Phul (Atk 500/Def 2000)

Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier (Atk 3000/Def 2500)

This didn't go as he wanted, and right now Yume has him exactly in the position for his very familiar move.

“And now I activate Megalith Phul’s effect, summoning a Megalith Bethor from my deck by tributing another copy of himself in my hand! And that immediately activates his effect, destroying all of your cards!” He says his Ritual monster releases beams of concentrated light, shattering Yuya’s monsters during his turn.

(Atk 1500/Def 2600) 

His Odd-Eyes cries out as he is destroyed, the roar resonating in its owner, almost like he feels its pain.

Yuya’s eyes travel over the field, taking in every detail as if in trance, the cheering of the audience reaching his ears like a deafening roar. ‘Don't stop!’ ‘You can do it!’ he picks up, but all the words reach his ears, making his puls faster. Stronger.

But it feels like this is supposed to be, somehow so incredibly familiar. A menacing grin spreads over his face as energy begins to flow through his body, flowing into his body as if it has been there for an eternity.

‘This is it. How it should be.’ The thoughts come from deep within his mind, far out in the dark areas beyond his reach. Old and strong, but somehow just as comforting, like something he should have known and missed his whole life.

‘Show them the true power of the unbeatable duelist they once called the King!’ The voice shouts in his head as Yuya reveals the last two cards in his hand.

“I activate the effect of Chronograph Sorcerer in my hand! When a card I control is destroyed, I can special summon him and another monster from my hand! So appear Chronograph Sorcerer and Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon!”

(Atk 2000/Def 1700)

(Atk 3000/Def 2500)

Yume gives him an excited look. “You added new cards to your deck? When did you do that? I guess you were preparing to meet one of us in the finals!” 

But the boy is ignored by his friend, instead receiving a menacing look that sends a shower down his back, his eyes almost looking as if they are glowing. “Uhm, Yuya?” 

“Now I activate the effect of Chronograph Sorcerer! I tribute him and banish four monsters in my graveyard, including Odd-Eyes Dragon!” Yuya shouts out, his voice hard and somehow … different.

Beams of black smoke erupt from his duel disc, fling into the sky and colliding high above the arena, lightning erupting from the collision point.

Suddenly a piercing pain erupts in Yume’s skull, his heartbeat quickening as the dark cloud grows, the same happening to Yuta in the stands.

“Now appear! Show your glorious might to the world! Annihilate everything that dares to stand up against the King! Z-ARC - Shard of Pendulum!” Yuya shouts out with a booming voice as his monster breaks out of the clouds, spreading its wings to cover the stadium.

(Atk 4000/Def 4000)

Yume looks up to the monster, its long scaled body coiling in the air, colourful gems on its body, horns and many spikes, all giving off a brilliant glow.

“Now for his effect.” The monster’s owner announces. “While he is on the field the effects of all monsters are negated, except if they can be Normal Summoned and were summoned from the Extra Deck.”

“Wha- but how?! Are there even monsters like that?!” Yume asks, even if he doesn't really expect an answer because of whatever is happening to his friend right now. ‘What is going on Yuya? Please be okay.’

“Now the second effect. Since you control a monster originating from the Main Deck, I can summon my banished Odd-Eyes.” With a bright flash the monster appears on the field, it and Yuya’s other small monster flanking the giant dragon.

“Now battle! First I attack your Megalith Phul with my Odd-Eyes Dragon!” He announces his monster destroying Yume’s in a blast of fire.

“Now activate the next effect of Z-ARC. I can tribute a monster I control to give him an additional attack. And chose Odd-Eyes, since he already attacked.” Yuya’s signature monster is swallowed in a bright light, getting absorbed into the bigger monster.

“Now I attack your Megalith Bethor with Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon!” The dragon very similar to the original Odd-Eyes fires a blast at Bethor, the statue formed monster shattering instantly.

“And now the effect of Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon activates since he destroyed a monster by battle, reviving the normal Odd-Eyes Dragon from my graveyard. And because he was resummoned, he can attack again! Attack Lord of the Red!” 

Yume’s monster can keep up with the attack, shattering as the boy’s lifepoints are lowered by 400.

“And now again, I tribute my other monsters so Z-ARC gains additional attacks. Which means he can now attack four times in this turn!” 

Again, the monsters are absorbed by the towering dragon, the energy charging up in its mouth. “Now attack! World Destroying Roar!”

The lightning surrounding the monster's body collects, getting released without mercy, lowering Yume’s lifepoints to zero as he is thrown out of the arena.

Silence falls over the stadium as the monsters disappear, the system announcing Yuya as the winner. 

But as soon as the last piece of the gigantic dragon vanishes, Yuya falls to his knees, passing out from exhaustion as something slithers back into the deepest part of his mind again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to write the start of Yume’s field building again. Sorry not sorry. But it's not that important anyway since nothing really happened there.  
> And yeah, I gave Yuya a thought up card, but I needed something a bit extreme and Supreme King Z-ARC was out of question.


	14. The Balance of Destruction

Yuri restlessly walks around Yuji’s room, the other boy sitting in the middle of his machines, but unlike usually not tinkering with any of them, instead sunken in deep thought.

The attack on the XYZ dimension started about two hours ago, new troops still getting sent into the battlefield.

And if any of the reports are true, it is going very well for them. But sadly, they can't say they expected anything else.

However, there is one thing that is bothering Yuri. “Why didn't the Professor send us?! That doesn't make sense! Does he know we are planning something?” He asks Yuji.

“No. I don't think so. But maybe he is suspicious of us? Hopefully this has some different reason behind it.” the other duelist muses. “But we didn't have a good plan on how to approach the other dimensions yet anyway.”

Yuri lets out a sigh. “If the Professor would at least have sent out enough troops to leave himself vulnerable, we could have used that chance, but of course he wasn’t that dump. … What are we going to do now?” 

Yuji just shrugs. “I guess the new plan is the old one. Warn the other dimension and help them rally up enough forces to overwhelm Academia’s defenses so we can get the killing blow on the Professor. We just have to try it with the next dimension Academia attacks.” He says, focusing on his duel disc.

Yuri lets himself drop onto the other's bed. “Why couldn't the Professor be easy to poison like every other person? What did he even do to his body for all the stuff we sneaked into his food to not work?”

“And the two explosions didn't do it either.” Yuji comments. “He still thinks that was the Doctor’s fault. That creepy old man deserved it anyway.”

That thought brings a smile to the Preadaplant user. He still hears the horrified screams of the man as the Professor announces that his research is getting terminated.

“Well, it's a good thing we got rid of that guy, even if it was mostly by accident.” Yuji says, taking a small device in his hands. 

“I tried to get in contact with Dennis, but it's turning out to be more difficult than expected. Did you know they assigned him his own unit?”

Yuri did in fact not know that, nor did he really care, if it wasn't important to their current situation. “Does that mean the mission of capturing that one girl is going into action? I guess his infiltration skills are pretty good.” He admits.

“Did he find out a reason why she is targeted?” the Preadaplant user asks.

“Sadly no. She seems to be a normal girl. Not that he was able to gather that much yet. For now we will have to wait.”

Yuri grinds his teeth. “I hate this. There has to be something we can do except that. Just sitting around just makes me feel so … helpless.”

Yuji gives him a look of sympathy. “I know. I feel the same. … I guess now that there are less students here we could try to use this lack of guarding personnel to infiltrate some of the facilities that were too risky before?” He suggests.

Yuri gives him a small smile. “Thanks. I would like to do that. Every bit could be helpful.”

‘We have to do this.’ Yuri tells himself . ‘No. We will.’


	15. The Broken City

Yuto is silently walking through the ruins of the city he once called his home, the stench of burned plastic permeating through his mask.

He is sent out for patrol today, and if the chance arises to take home a bit of food. Not that he expects to be able too.

Academia already burned down every shop and storage they could find, trying to starve them to death without having to lift a finger. Tactically the right decision, but Yuto would prefer to not be on the receiving end of it.

He silently walks through the shadows of the debris when suddenly a shout reaches his ears. He doesn't recognize the voice, but hurries to it anyway, still trying to hide his presence. But as soon as he sees the source he jumps out of hiding.

Yushiro is surrounded by a group of three Academia students, dodging the flames of the opponents hunting dog.

Luckily the shout came from one of the Academia soldiers, Yushiro knocking her out with his monster, a serious look on his face. 

“Well, let's get this over with. My Zoodiac Drident now destroys the last of your monsters, and then I activate the effect of Gagaga Samurai, detaching a material so he gains a second attack. Now battle!” He calls out, his monster's attacks reducing the opponent's life points to zero.

The enemies are thrown against the ruins behind them, knocking them out for now.

“Yushiro!” Yuto shouts as he runs to his friend, the other giving him a tired smile as soon as he sees him.

“Hey. Thanks for coming. I don't think I can take another group of them.” He says, leaning on the wall beside him.

Only now Yuto spots the cards littering the ground, maybe a dozen scared faces of Academia soldiers looking up to him. Yushiro walks over to the other group of soldiers, clicking a button on his duel disc, a light erupting from it.

Yuto averts his eyes, the whole process still feeling bad to him. He knows that they can't just keep letting the soldiers escape, or they will never be able to win against their army, but still.

He silently watches as his friend picks up the cards from the ground, putting them into his pocket. They still don’t properly know how this carding thing even works, one of their mechanics simply adding the function together with the Solid Vision to their disks.

Yushiro seems to think that it can be reverted, reasoning that they would leave the cards of their comrades behind if it wasn't for that fact, but Yuto suspects he is just telling himself that to lessen the strain on his mind.

Not that he has much of a choice.

“We should get back to the base and send out another group. I need some rest.” The other duelist drags Yuto out of his thoughts. “We need to get the information to the headquarter. They are slowly advancing to our location, maybe will have to move again soon.” 

As they heed home Yuto doesn't move from his friends side, the tired boy looking like he is about to tip over, the injuries he gets from the Solid Vision system piling up on his body.

Yuto’s eyes shift at the bandage on the boy’s neck, far too close to deadly areas to be considered okay. The Phantom Knight user feels anger swell up in his body as he remembers the pictures of his friend getting dragged back to the base with blood leaking from his neck.

It was his second time on the patrols, still unused to the new dangerous elements added to the duels. It still hasn't healed completely, never given time to properly recover, even if it has been quite a while ago now.

Quite a while. Isn't that a thought? How long has it even been since their lives were thrown into chaos?

“Hey. Don't worry. I'm fine.” The other boy tells him, forcing out a smile as he sees the other’s frown. But Yuto doesn't fall for it, moving even closer to the other boy as they walk.

Luckily the way back is uneventful, no more confrontations happening till they reach the ruins of Heartland Academy, the current headquarter of the resistance and fugitive camp.

As they step in through the hidden entrance they spot Shun, guarding it from any possible intruders.

“There you are. Is your shift over?” He asks in a tired voice, but his eyes immediately turn worried as he spots Yushiro’s exhausted appearance. “Is everything okay? Did you get hurt?” 

Yuto is the one who answers for his friend. “The soldiers are getting closer to us. He took out a bunch on his own. I will get him to our room.” He says, receiving a nod from the other.

“Please do. Don't push yourself too hard … if possible.” He tells the Zoodiac user. 

Luckily for them their room is close to the entrance, so that in case of an intruder they can react faster. 

Yuto opens the door, leading his friend to the old single bed they sleep on, right beside that of Shun and Ruri.

“Lay down and try to sleep.” He tells Yushiro. “I will inform the others about the soldiers and give you a briefing tomorrow.”

“But I can help too.” The other boy says, even if Yuto can already see him struggle to keep his eyes open.

“You have already done more than enough. Try to rest for now.” He tells him, pulling up the blanket over his body.

Another mumble leaves the boy, but is cut off as he drifts into sleep.

Yuto stays for another minute, making sure he is okay before leaving to tell the others about the current situation. 

He takes one last look back into the room, Yushiro’s silent breathing bouncing from the bare walls.

“Don't worry. I will protect you.” Yuto promises himself.


	16. First Steps to Contact

Recently Yuri has picked up on some weird rumors. Someone claims to have seen a person looking incredibly similar to Yuri and Yuji in the Xyz dimension, mercilessly destroying their troops.

The Preadaplant duelist would have just ignored it, but the sheer number of people with these claims makes him think about it. 

Of course the information about this stranger sharing his face is unreliable, different students claiming two completely different decks to be used. 

It could be that the Xyz duelist just changes it regularly to confuse his opponents, but that would be highly unusual.

He almost laughs when one of the more outlandish theories flies through his head. One of the students said that this proves Yuji and him aren't human, but some kind of dueling monsters that all share the same face.

And luckily this has the secondary effect of slightly slowing down the soldiers, the fear of anything related to Yuri and Yuji almost a reflex by now.

It seems that even the Professor has heard of the rumors, setting them under surveillance for a while till the man was sure they didn't secretly help the enemies. Not that Yuri was supposed to notice it, but most of the soldiers are -luckily for him- really incompetent.

He makes his way back to Yuji’s room, the other boy letting the other duelist in as soon as he sees the other’s face, and -to Yuri’s surprise- quickly pulling him inside.

“Did you find something?” he asks the machine user, receiving a nod in response.

“Yes, look at this.” He says, holding out a tablet to the other boy, showing a familiar picture of the girl Dennis was supposed to observe, accompanied by two other girls with a striking resemblance to her.

“They were in the same folder. And each was labeled. The one Dennis is sent after Xyz, the turquoise haired Synchro and this one, Fusion.” Yuji finishes, pointing at a girl in a standard Slifer Red Academia uniform.

“I have never seen her around. I'm pretty sure of that.” Yuri says to his friend, taking in the uncanny resemblance. He is pretty good at remembering faces, maybe not the according names, but he is sure he would recognize her if he ever saw her, maybe even as soon as he saw that girl from Xyz.

“Same here. I would have doubted that she even is a student, but here is her profile.” He says, showing off another picture to Yuri. “But it just doesn't make sense. Her name is registered as Serena, a Slifer Red student, but her dueling score and physical abilities are far higher than that. Her accommodation is also outside of the normal dorms, instead in the highest security area, right beside that of the Professor.”

He lets out a sigh. “Why does this keep making less sense the more we find out?!”

“But I’m not even finished yet. There was one more file, labeled with standard, but it doesn't have a picture yet and it is mostly blank. It had a city map attached to it, full of crossed out areas. Whoever she is, they are trying to find her, just like the others.”

Yuri takes another look at the group of girls, the faces ooh so similar to each other, as if this all was a really good work of makeup and wigs, just like- “Just like us.” Yuri finishes out loud, catching his friends attention.

“Well, I guess? ... But you are right. Something like this happening in this number is too improbable to write it off as a coincidence. … I just have no idea what the Professor is planning with this.” Yuji muses.

But Yuri doesn't have an idea either. 

Suddenly a thought rushes into his mind. “The rumors! You know the ones! With the guy looking like us in the Xyz dimension?” He clarifies. He can practically see how a lightbulb turns on in his friends head.

“You are right! So that probably wasn't just a rumor! If there is a Xyz counterpart of that Serena, the chance that we have one is high too! … But that doesn't explain why there are already two of us here. Do you think the Professor kidnaped one of us from another dimension before what we remember?” Yuji asks.

“Possible. But that means we should get in contact with that Xyz guy somehow. If the Professor collects the girls, there is a high chance he will end up collecting our lookalikes too. Maybe we can prevent that.”

“But for that we will need an allowance to go into the Xyz dimension. Who knows how long that will take!” Yuji complains.

His friend doesn't have a solution for that, letting the room fall into silence.

Yuji is the first to break it. “I hate the thought of just being part of a set an insane dictator wants to collect.

And, yeah, Yuri couldn't agree more.


	17. Things from a Lost Life

It has been about two weeks since the Newcomer Duell League and Yuya still has trouble sorting through the memories. 

He learned what happens mostly from the video recording of the last duel, not remembering what happened, all foggy like it's covered by a thick layer of mist.

The one thing he remembers is a voice speaking to him right before his mind fell into darkness, apparently using a card that he didn't know he had, and most importantly - disappearing after the duel.

All in all, very confusing.

He looks up to his friends, the two boys lying beside him on the bed in his room, having a small duel without their desks.

Yuya guiltily looks at the bandage covering Yume’s arm. His last attack threw the boy in a brutal fashion, the only blessing for Yuya being that the bone didn't break, but the doctor said it was close.

Yume seems to notice his look, setting down his cards to turn to his friend. “How many times do I have to tell you that it's not your fault. Accidents sometimes happen in duels, and whatever happened to you clearly was out of your control.”

Yuya returns a smile, but no matter how often Yume tries to talk the guilt out of him, he can't forgive himself.

Yuta is the one to break him out of his thoughts. “But we still don't know what happened there. Did you manage to remember something more?” He asks, Yuya shaking his head.

Of course he told his friends about the voice, even if he didn't feel comfortable telling his mom. The two believed him, even if Yuta was visibly disturbed by the fact that Yuya found the voice kinda comforting.

But aside from that, the tournament was a huge success.

You Show duel school got some more attention, but Yuya isn't really sure if that will hold out for long. But most importantly, with his display at the finals no has has even so bothered him since then.

He knows that fear is not something a performer should invoke, but he definitely sees the upsides. And gaining a bit of respect can never be wrong.

Yuya takes up the crude drawing of the giant dragon card he used, cobbled together from the little information they managed to collect. Even if he knows it isn't the real one, it somehow feels like it, giving Yuya a mixture of emotions he can't decipher.

With a sigh he sets it down on his nightstand again. It's not like staring at it will get him any further in his problems.

Yuya rubs his eyes as he lets out a yawn. He has had some weird dreams for some days now, only shards of it within his reach as he wakes up.

The ringing of the doorbell shakes him out of his thoughts, Yume already standing up. “Looks like she is already here. I guess her lessons were shorter than expected.” He says as the boys walk down the stairs, opening the front door to reveal Mieru.

“Ah, good day boys! Yume already informed me about everything. I can't wait to try this out! Here, take this to his room.” She says, handing over a surprisingly heavy bag.

Yuya has only met her briefly before, at the times when he and Yuta were over at Yume’s home. After the rather unusual recent events, Yume suggested asking his foster sister for advice, the girl specialising in unnatural circumstances after all.

“So, I am not sure what kind of situation this is from the explanation and video alone, so I brought over a bunch of stuff to try out in different cases.” She explains. “But maybe it won't even be that hard.”

She takes out a crystal apple from her pocket, showing it to the boys as they sit down on the ground of Yuya’s room again.

“First I want you to try and relax.” She tells the boy in question. “This isn't supposed to hurt in any way, so there really isn't anything to worry about for now.” She ends slightly ominously, but the duelist complies, closing his eyes as he relaxes his body.

She extends her left hand to his chest, her fingers barely even touching, as she looks into her crystal, the colors in her tool slowly beginning to shift.

Her eyes briefly turn distant, as if looking into a deep abyss, suddenly taking in a deep breath. 

“Uhm, I don't really know a good way to say this, but you kinda have another soul in your body? I think so at least.” She tells them, sounding kinda awkward at the end.

“What!?” The three boys shout in union. 

“Well, I don't know what kind of situation this is, but you don't exactly seem possessed or anything of the kind. And for some reason the second soul doesn't feel like it is out of place there, more like it has been sleeping in there for a long time.” She tries to clarify, even if she doesn’t sound sure with her own explanation at all.

“But what I am sure about is that we should not disturb it when it is peaceful right now. What was it that you felt when it awakened anyway?” She asks Yuya.

“It's kinda hard to remember.” Yuya tries, but lets his mind drift back to that day. “It felt like I just had to win, the eyes of the people all focused on me. I just felt like I ... had to prove myself?”

“Hmm. Interesting. I will look that up later, but don't expect a result too fast. I’m not a professional yet, but I can assure you that this isn't your average case.” she says, pushing away the bad she brought, now no longer required.

“But there is one more thing that is kinda weird? But I’m not that sure yet. Can I get to test you boys too?” She asks the others.

“Well, I guess it could help Yuya?” Yuta asks slightly sceptically, but still moves closer to the girl.

“Okay. Just like Yuya, try to be as calm as possible.” She says, setting her hand on the boy's chest. 

For a short moment her eyes turn distant again but this time returned to normal faster. “Okay, now Yume, even if I mostly know this already.” And repeats the process with the other boy, her face turning really confused as her eyes open.

“So, It turns out not only your faces look unnaturally similar, but your souls look too.” She starts. “A soul is even more unique than a face I will have you know, more of a fingerprint really. I kinda remembered how Yume’s looked from when I started learning this, so it was pretty obvious now that I saw yours.” she gestures to Yuya.

Silence falls for a moment, Yuta breaking it with a confused look on his face. “And what does that mean for us?”

Mieru looks directly into his eyes, and with certainty tells him. “I have no idea. At all. I have never read of something like this. Even twins have completely different souls. Oh, but there is one more thing. Now that I knew what to look for, you two also have something in your deep subconscious that looks like a smaller version of whatever Yuya has.” She finishes.

Yume lets himself drop to the floor with a sigh. “So we know some more stuff, but somehow this is even more confusing than before.”

Mieru sympathetically pats his shoulder. “I will try to look into it, maybe I can find some kind of explanation for it.”

But that is only a small blessing for Yuya, the boy letting himself drop to the ground bedside his friend, Yuta doing the same on the other side.

He was definitely too tired for this.


	18. Prepare for Takeoff

Yuto takes off the duel disk from the unconscious Academia soldier lying on the ground in front of him, putting it in his bag with others of its kind.

With shaking hands he raises his duel disk, pressing a button as light erupts from the device, covering the unconscious foes with a blinding light, only leaving behind cards when it disappears.

Yuto turns away as he tries to suppress the horrible feeling in his stomach. 

He still has problems with this, but he understands why it has to be done. He just really hopes this is as reversible as they think.

As he picks up the cards from the ground he hears footsteps approach from the side. He quickly activates his disk, but lowers it as he sees a very familiar face come towards him.

“Shun. Don't scare me like this.” He says, the other actually being the one to seem shocked by his presence.

“Oh. It's you. How many did you get already?” He asks, pointing to the bag full of disks. 

“Enough, I think. You seem to not be bad off either.” He replies, his eyes focusing on the bag dragged behind by the boy.

They always knew that Academia came from some sort of different dimension, the soldiers proclaiming to ‘Bring glory to the Fusion Dimension’ since day one, but recently they got some different information.

They got to know that there are other dimensions beside these two, this being the first to be attacked by Academia.

And that gives them a chance to gather allies. If Academia had the ability to win against all the different dimensions combined after all, they would have done so.

He doesn't actually want to know how that resistance member did to that soldier to get out that information, but he can imagine it was pretty.

The duel disks they have gathered hold the pieces that allow the soldiers to travel through dimensions. Or at least some of them should. That's why for now they grab every they can get their hands on.

Yuto suddenly picks up another set of steps approaching from the side, but he can recognize the hop in the steps. “Yushiro. Over here.” He calls out over the walls, the other boy not wasting any time to join them.

“Looks like you were quite successful too.” He says as soon as he spots the other bags. “Think we should get back for now?”

“Probably a good idea. If too many of their soldiers go missing in an area they are going to send reinforcements. We are bound to have gotten their attention already.” Shun says, picking up the duel disks collected by him.

“Good thing we did it away from the base then, or they might have found our location. Maybe this will even throw them off our trail.” Yushiro says, walking after the other boy.

Yuto really hopes so. The soldiers got worryingly close to the base recently.

It takes them a good while to make their way back, but they got lucky and found some undamaged canned goods on the way. It is only a drop for the ocean of hungry mouths they have to feed, but it is better than nothing.

It would be enough if every person brought in that amount of food, but sadly that isn't the case. There are many children back at base, and Yuto has no problems with providing for them, but he has some really hard feelings about the adults.

There are many that cover in the safety of the base, letting children less than half their age protect them. It is only a question of time till that escalates.

Shun thought about forcing them to go out to collect resources, and with their dwindling supplies Yuto is on board with that by now.

These thoughts fly around the duelist’s head as they silently make their way through the ruins, keeping eyes and ears open for any enemies.

When they get back to the base and enter through the secret passageway they are welcomed by Ruri.

“Thank god you are back. I was starting to get worried something happened to you.” She says as she runs up to them, catching the three into a hug.

Her eyes drift to the bags. “I take it that the mission was successful?”

“More than that. We can also add a bit to the food storage.” Shun says as he hands her the cans. 

A smile spreads over her face. “Thank you. We really needed that.”

“We will take the disks to the mechanics.” Yushiro announces, taking Shuns bag of disks. “You two take a break.” He tells Ruri and Shun, dragging Yuto away into the deeper parts of the building.

Not that Yuto resists. Shun cares deeply for his sister and recently they rarely have time to interact, always being placed in different kinds of work.

And while this is the right decision, considering their contrasting specialties, it seems to really stress Shun.

The two lookalikes make their way back into the deeper parts of the building, storing the newly carded Academia soldiers in a chest all the others are in before they deliver the duel disks. Yuto just really doesn't feel comfortable with them in his pocket.

The mechanics are in one of the deepest parts of the building, a constant wave of sounds emitted from the room as they try to implement the solid vision into as many of the Resistant’s duel disks as possible.

Yuto feels kind of bad to throw an additional kind of work on top of that, but he knows this is the only way.

“Uhm, I’m sorry? Where should we put the new batch of confiscated duel disks?” Yushiro asks into the room, gaining the attention of almost every person present.

“Already? That was pretty fast.” An older man approaches them, taking the bag and emptying it on a nearby table. “That is quite the amount. Thank you boys, now we can finally do our part. If the data we need is on neither of them -which I highly doubt- I will send someone to get you. Until then take some rest. You deserve it.”

The two friends, thank the man and excuse themselves, returning to their room where they let themselves fall into the bed. Shun and Ruri aren't there yet, leaving the two boys alone.

For a while they just lay in silence, a dimm humming behind the thick walls being the only sound.

“I don't think I can do this much longer.” Yushiro suddenly admits, his voice barely loud enough that Yuto catches it, but still cutting through the silence somehow.

The black haired boy turns to his friends, the others face vulnerable and so full of emotions, tears pooling in the others eyes but refusing to fall.

Yuto silently takes him in a tight hug, running his hand through the other's hair till he feels his friend's breathing and pulse slow down.

“Don't worry. We will fix this. And then everything will be like before. No more battles. No more suffering.” Yuto says, maybe to himself as much as to Yushiro, as the two boys drift off into an exhausted slumber.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it!


End file.
